Love and Loss: The Lament of Legolas

By Lydwina Marie

Best friends we were for many years,
We shared our laughter, shared our tears,
Now he is gone, I weep alone
In halls before the empty throne.

To no one can I turn and go,
For boundless grief they cannot know.
Now he is gone; I am alone
In the dark halls by empty throne.

His mortal years were less than mine,
but in the night his eyes would shine
with love and strength, unkindled fire
and from his sword would pour his ire.

I weep and sing for Aragorn,
for from my eyes his life was torn.
And now I weep, I am alone
In the dark hall by empty throne.

~~ * ~~

 

The Sea Maiden

By Tony M.

In a dream of northern lands
I walked along the rainy strand
Where Vikings peoples once had planned
A venture far and new

In truth and legends down through time
In Saxon tales and bardic rhyme
Of heroes and of heathen crime
And travels on the blue

But now a modern nation-state
With Church and King and cities great
Remembers how it changed the fate
And knowledge of the world

And there I walked, and softly dreamed
As in a Christmas card it seemed
Among the streets that fairly teemed
I came upon a girl

With strawberry hair and eyes so blue
That with a smile she could undo
A man’s resolve and fealty true
To home so far away

Who is this girl who smiles on me?
Be she Elf or Valkyrie?
Or Viking queen upon the sea,
But lost in modern day?

She spoke to me in foreign tongue
In words it seemed to me had sprung
From ancient soul through mouth too young
To carry all they be

I followed her across the the land
Through mountain, wood, and fjord and strand
And out upon a ship unmanned
We traveled on the sea

I sang to her the songs I wrote
But notes rang hollow in the boat
And with a knowing smile she smote
To ruins all my pride

But with a touch beneath my cheek
I felt no longer need to speak
And knew that things I thought were weak
I need no longer hide

And then at last she bade me go
Back into the world I know
And I awakened cold and slow
In bed where I was laid

But now again in waking life
Full of dull and petty strife
I would that I could take to wife
My dreamed-of fairy maid.

~~ * ~~

Lúthien’s lament before Mandos

By Sarah Idríel The Fair

Ai!

This is the tale of Lúthien’s lament
before Mandos to seek her love

Finally the quest for Silmaril
was accomplished but
Beren was mortally wounded
and Lúthien held him in her arms
and Beren smiled and said

‘At last thou are mine
more beautiful than any of jewel! ‘

And Lúthien said to him
her voice filled with sorrow

It is time to bid thee farewell
Beren Erchamion! (one-handed)
I seek you, I come to you
thru grief and death
and we will meet again
beyond the Great Sea!

And Beren died in her arms
and her tears were overflowed
and all the birds went silent in the woods

And so left
Beren son of Barahir
from the House of Bëor
the knowledge of Men

Thus Lúthien slowly faded
and vanished and with the
help of her divine mother

her soul went to the Halls of Mandos
and there she stood in front of him
who pronounces judgement in matters of fate

And Mandos spoke

Come, thou hast now entered
the Halls of Awaiting
and on what errand thou have
come to me thru time
and thought?

And then Lúthien spoke
with trembling voice
in front of Mandos;

O thou Great Námo
the Doomsman of the Valar
Thou know my mother
Melian the Divine
It has been a long time since
she has sung with the nightingales
in the gardens of Lórien

And Lúthien told one of the saddest
tales of the Elder Days when the world
was still young and she, daughter of
Melian the Beautiful, used to dance
in the woods of Doriath

and Lúthien told about Beren and the
undying love between them
and she told about the Quest for the Silmaril
and how it all went wrong

And she spoke

O thou Great Fëanturi
the Master of Spirits
for the sake of my mother
who are known to thy brother
(Irmo the master of visions and dreams)
and because of the love which she
feels to her daughter
I beg you to grant me a wish
to seek my love who has gone
I gave my promise to him
to seek him beyond those dark paths of loneliness

And so happened that
Mandos was moved for the first time
after hearing her speaking
and it has never happened since

and even the Ruler of the Death
was moved before Melian’s daughter

And Mandos sat silent for a long time
and considered the matter in his heart

At last Mandos asked for advice from
Manwë Súlimo who was closest
to Ilúvatar’s mind

and for a long time Manwë pondered
these things in his mind and heart
and Ilúvatar gave him an answer
as a purest and highest tone that spoke to him

In the meanwhile Lúthien had become
almost like a shadow and a memory
and at last Mandos called her to come in front of him
to hear his judgement

And Mandos spoke

O hear thou Tinúviel
daughter of Melian
who is dear to us
I cannot revoke what has
already happened
and I cannot take away the gifts
that Ilúvatar has given

But I will grant thy wish
so that thou can lead Beren
forth once more into the world
but still as mortal and also thou
shalt have the gift of Men
in exchange for this second span of life

How long it will be
or wherever ye must go after it
I cannot say
because only Eru knows it

And it was told that Lúthien and Beren
they lived away from the others and
never again talked to Men.

And Lúthien danced there
beside the nightingales
and Beren was with her
in that blissful island
of Tol Galen.

~~ * ~~

To the Halls of Mandos

By Chené  R.

How did it come to this?
A memory now are the days of old
Spent frolicking among Elanor and Niphredil blossoms
As the birds of the Golden Wood filled the air with their song
We would gallop through the Valley of Singing Gold
Weaving through the silver bark
Stopping to sit by the falls
And trade stories from far across Arda.
Days of joy are over, and no dreams fill this darkened wood
For now it is abandoned; our kindred long departed for the West.
There was a time I yearned to visit Aman,
That too has come to an end
For what I desire most
Is lost from all this world has to offer
I will see you again, my love
in the Halls of Mandos, from where I call to you.

~~ * ~~