Words beneath a dappled sky

Caged by men, to foe unfearing
The bars give way with courage nearing
In lines of steel her fair face tearing
Sharp, bright-edged Eowyn

An adaptation of Tennyson's Lady of Shallot for Eowyn's story, the idea was started by someone else but caught my fancy so I ran with it. I remember spending the better part of a long Thanksgiving weekend trip with a notebook in hand struggling to work this through - and yes, it's just as long. For what it's worth, I've had a couple people tell me they preferred it to the original, which was a fine compliment indeed.

The Lady Eowyn
( In hall of stone above the plains )
-

Though few can understand how we complete one another;
And they stare at us in wonder as we walk the city streets

One of those ultimate friendships in literature, the bond that grew between this most unlikely pair.

Two Such Friends
( we are lessened when we are apart )
-

In such grieving as this is found wisdom,
And in wisdom you will find your strength.

A longer piece for Merry's being recalled from the darkness and grieving by Aragorn's skill.

Merry's Awakening
( My heart has gone grey and still as death )
-

Great heart will
Not
Be denied

A companion piece, of sorts, to Pippin in Gondor and one of my personal favorites.

MEFA First Place winner for 2008, Dramatic Poetry

Merry on the Pelennor Fields
( A cold wind is rising )
-

You were made for one another,
The mount of a King

A poetic homage to Snowmane, his faithful service and the tragedy of his death and Theoden's.

Snowmane
( Surely you were foaled for this very season )
-

No doubts to touch their hearts, no fear however small
That you would ever lead them astray, no question
Ever shadowing their hearts to wonder at your honor.

A homage to Faramir and like The Red Book this is in the form of a sestina, where key words are shuffled and re-used in different order at the ending of each line in each stanza.

Sestina for Faramir
( Though youthful for a Captain )

Yet for all your wisdom, you did not see
That a wound cannot be filled with shadows

A pair for Denethor, who obviously was once a better leader than the unstable wreckage he was becoming by the time the narrative reaches him. The first addresses his pride and claim on the leadership, the other his clinging to it by choosing to use a poisoned tool as a source of 'wisdom'.

Heritage
( Lost beneath the banners and proud lineage )
-
Canker
( Leader of ashes, Steward of secrets )
-

Saddled and bridled
And gallant rode he;
Home came his brother.
But never came he

The first here has a horse-riding rhythm for Boromir's ill-fated journey, who would never come home again and whose father would never recover from the blow. The second mourns Osgiliath and its broken dome, the lost city by the river with its abandoned artistry and bridges.

One Son of Gondor
( Out from the battle )
-
Dome of Stars
( ...extinguished lamp of Numenor’s desiring )
-

Shakespearian sonnets adapted for Denethor and his sons:

( Denethor: To Thyself they are Death-loyal )
( Boromir and the Ring: Shadows of Victory )
( Faramir: How could I hold Thee to Cause Thy Failing? )

The Ae Freislighe is an Irish syllabic stanza form, and this is an attempt to render one in English:

Barrows

The Barrow Downs lie in the mist,
The wreathing wisps grasp the stones,
Call me now a pessimist
But this cold reminds of bones.

Long ago they fell beneath,
Dark the shades that crept within,
Heavy gold they shall bequeath,
Entrapping weight to stiffen.

Why did we stop, unthinking?
Now my plaintive cry resounds,
Answered only in clinking,
Far beneath the Barrow Downs.

--
With it I'm placing a trio in the form of a Burns Stanza, named for the pattern favored by the famous Robert Burns.

( Not for Thee )
-
( Eowyn Heals )
-
( Grima's View )