Middle-earth Journeys

These poems are all great!
I've made a second one...
Hope you like it.

The treacherous tunnels of the murky mine
Soldier on in spine-chilling silence.
“Advance to the bridge,” the wizard says,
“But beware of the Balrog’s violence.”
Swiftly and soundlessly, the group scurried
Crossing the dull Khazad-Dûm.
Unknowingly awakening a fiery foe,
The death-assuring demon of doom.

The horned creature roared,
With wretched reverberation.
It stood in a taunting stance,
Wanting response of the population.
“You must yield,” Wizard wails,
Echoing ever endlessly,
“Or return to your residence...
...In pain and misery!”

The demon disobeyed, desiring death,
As it launched forward frightfully.
Grasping the wizard, it plummeted,
The fellowship watched distressfully.
The wizard latched onto the ledge,
Wondering of his last words,
“Fly, you fools,” said he, firmly,
Frodo cried out as the ledge dispersed.

I've composed a second poem. However, it is five stanzas long -- one stanza too long for the contest. Here is the original, which I REALLY like:

Tall and terrible, Tol-in-Gaurhoth,
Once fair Felagund’s Minas Tirith,
Now werewolf wold, grim and ghostly,
Ghastly grinned on lissome Luthien.
Siren song sang she, seeking
Felagund fair and Beren brave
Painfully prisoned in tower terrible
By sneering sorcerer Sauron.

Bemused, Beren sang a song of
Seven Stars, Sickle of Vala Varda.
Fainting fell he, but Luthien listened
Pouring power in surging song.
Wolf upon wolf, Sauron sent slavering
Melian’s maid to capture cowering.
But hound Huan, valiant of Valinor,
Slew them swiftly, silent sentinel.

Dread Draugluin, wicked werewolf,
Old in evil, Sauron sent.
Fiercely fought they, Hound and Haunt,
‘Til weak, wounded, Draugluin departed.
“Huan is here,” declared he dying
To mighty Master, grim Gorthaur.
Shape he shifted to mighty monster,
Foulest werewolf to walk the world.

Wicked werewolf against Melian’s maid
Slavering sprang, her cloak covering.
Drowsy darkness hindered him,
Then Hound Huan throttled his throat.
Slinking Sauron surrendered Sirion,
Mastered by maid and Hound Huan.
On vampire’s wing he vanished, vanquished,
As lovely Luthien proclaimed her power.

Spells spun she, sorceress of song,
‘Til stone upon stone tumbled tower.
Craven captives faltered forward
Blinking, bewildered at freedom found.
Searching songstress and faithful friend
Long looked, then watching wept,
For Felagund the Fair lifeless lay
By brave Beren, ghastly, grieving.


SOOOO, in order to comply with the rules of the contest, here is a four stanza version, which I also like, but I really miss the elements I had to remove:

Tall and terrible, Tol-in-Gaurhoth,
Once fair Felagund’s Minas Tirith,
Now werewolf wold, grim and ghostly,
Ghastly grinned on lissome Luthien.
Siren song sang she, seeking
Felagund fair and Beren brave
Painfully prisoned in tower terrible
By sneering sorcerer Sauron.

Wolf upon wolf, Sauron sent slavering
Melian’s maid to capture cowering.
But hound Huan, valiant of Valinor,
Slew them swiftly, silent sentinel.
Dread Draugluin, wicked werewolf,
Old in evil, Sauron sent.
Fiercely fought they, Hound and Haunt,
‘Til weak, wounded, Draugluin departed.

Then grim Gorthaur shape shifted
To foulest werewolf to walk the world.
Wicked werewolf against Melian’s maid
Slavering sprang, her cloak covering.
Drowsy darkness hindered him,
Then Hound Huan throttled his throat.
Slinking Sauron surrendered Sirion,
Mastered by maid and Hound Huan.

On vampire’s wing he vanished, vanquished,
As lovely Luthien proclaimed her power.
Spells spun she, sorceress of song,
‘Til stone upon stone tumbled tower.
Searching songstress and faithful friend
Long looked, then watching wept,
For Felagund the Fair lifeless lay
By brave Beren, ghastly, grieving.

Fabulous poems!

What a wonderful selection we have already in this competition! I too am hoping to finish a second entry before New Year, but it's not coming as easily as the first one I posted - so it might not happen!

Wishing everyone at MEJ a Merry Christmas/Cool Yule/Happy Holiday (delete as appropriate)

I've been working on one, too--hope to post it tonight after Mass!

What I'm enjoying most are the subjects of these poems--not what I would have predicted. I was at first trying to write about Merry and/or Pippin, but the style didn't seem to allow it. Somehow it forces us into the darker subjects.

We've got quite a mother/daughter contest here! It will definitely be hard to vote.

Wow some fantastic stuff here people. I love what you're all coming up with. I'm so out of the Tolkien loop I'd have to reread some passages to produce anything worth posting.

As marbretherese has posted happy holidays MeJ friends.

As we prepare our home for Santa's arrival tonight,

Happy holidays to all of our MeJ friends!

Love,

Lindariel and Meliel

A Christmas message from EOWEBRINDA Queen of the Noldor!

" May your days be merry and light, and may all your Christmases
be bright"

Thanks, Eowebrinda--your name is fun to say!

This isn't an entry in the contest, since the mods aren't eligible, but I think we should try to do these things every year anyway. I let myself be guided by Halbarad's name itself and the line from the end of "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields".

Halbarad Dunadan,
“Dour-handed Ranger”,
Star-Wearer, Standard-Bearer,
Friend and fiercer stranger.
Faced fear at Dwimorberg,
“My doom and death are due”;
Dared face the Dreadful King
To follow King Renew.

His path to Pelennor,
Far fields in foreign land,
Southern fortress to free,
Dour sword, dour hand.
His tale’s told in Northlands:
By fearsome foes dispatched;
Sing of hero Halbarad,
Numenorean unmatched.

Wow Merry! VERY nice -- and it rhymes! I concentrated on rhythm and alliteration and gave up on rhymes. It's so HARD to do all three!

Just LOVELY!

So, our hero/ine tally so far includes Sam x 2, Dernhelm/Eowyn, Tuor, Gandalf, Luthien/Huan, and Halbarad. That's a really interesting group -- no Aragorn, no Legolas, no Gimli, no Boromir or Faramir! And no FRODO (except tangentially as part of Franni's and Meliel's poems about Sam)!

Thanks, Lindariel. Just think: Tolkien sometimes had middle of the line rhyming, in addition to all the other rules. Amazing.

Wow!!!!

So many great entries since I last looked! I started off trying to pick lines I really liked to quote here, but then realised that there are so many in all the poems I had to give up. You all rock, you really do, and everyone's really getting into the spirit of the style. And I also think the choice of subject is really interesting. Like Lindariel said, I think the style lends itself to a particular type of hero. Fantastic!

I'm going to have to get cracking....!

Halbarad!! Yes!!

These are all marvelous!!!

All that is honorable
All that is heroic
For decades he was Strider
The lonely outsider
But his hour drew near
Driven by destiny
Born of noble lineage
Carrying the flame of his heritage

Protecting the Ringbearer
Forging the Fellowship
Summoning armies
Living and dead
Mighty were his deeds
Many were the needs
Destroying Isildur’s Bane
Will we see his like again

Son of Númenor
Son of Middle-earth
Born of Telcontar
Born to be Elessar
The Dúnedain grew fewer
But he was the Renewer
Perhaps Elendil reborn
But so much more, Aragorn


Who else would I pick?

Wonderful! I'm glad you did choose him. You had me at the first line. Really, are people honorable any more? Is this a word we use about people? I love seeing it here. It made me think.

I think his honor is the most compelling aspect of Aragorn. It drives his fairness and compassion as well as propelling his heroics. In fiction, it is hard for me to think of any comparable character. In real life...it is darn near impossible to measure up.