Welcome to The Great Hall of Poets, our regular monthly feature showcasing the talent of Middle-earth fans. Each month we will feature a small selection of the poems submitted, but we hope you will read all of the poems that we have received here in our Great Hall of Poets.
So come and join us by the hearth and enjoy!
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net
One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
The Lay of Eowyn
By William Diehl
Now, hear the Lay of Eowyn,
A shield-maiden of yore,
Who lived her life in fealty
And loyalty, and war.
In Meduseld, King Theoden
Had no daughter of his own,
So he bade his sister’s child live
With him in his great home.
A lovely maiden of golden hair
Known all across the Mark,
But a shield-maiden must prove herself
At the coming of the Dark.
It happened many years ago
Before our age had come.
Evil fell upon the Rohirrim
And no more songs were sung.
Across the fields of Rohan
And the grasses of the Wold,
Invaders from a far-off land
Rode fearlessly and bold.
Though Theoden was wizened,
He bore a majesty of old.
He sent the mighty Eorlingas
To East and Western Folds.
Upon the west the invaders crept,
The orcs of an evil lord,
Where Theodred, son of Theoden
Met doom by a goblin-sword.
To Theoden, King of Rohan, this news
Dealt a mighty blow.
By evil counsel Theoden was
Convinced that he was old.
But from the North came a mighty sword,
The blade of Anduril.
The lost king of the western lands
Had come in times of ill.
This proud man’s name was Aragorn,
Son of Arathorn by birth.
His grand arrival in Meduseld
Brought happiness and mirth.
He approached the lofty dais
Where Theoden was set,
And suddenly he saw Eowyn
Who smiled when they met.
A finer warrior she had never seen,
This man of jet-black hair,
His face was proud of bearing
Though his hands showed signs of wear.
And he beheld a shield-maiden –
So lovely yet so stern,
A woman of strength and beauty
For which any man would yearn.
Then Theoden and Aragorn rode
To battle in the West,
Leaving Eowyn to think of them and
Manage Meduseld her best.
Across the grass of Rohan came
Tidings of victory!
Now, the mighty warrior Aragorn
Would come for her to see.
For many days she waited until
Finally, he returned.
She was overjoyed to see him
But shocked with what she learned.
He announced that in the morning he
Would go upon his way,
Leaving lonely, anguished Eowyn
In Meduseld to stay.
She begged to come with Aragorn
As he rode away to war.
But Aragorn would have her not
And rode out from the door.
Soon Theoden, the King, returned;
A battle he had won.
But preparations were underway,
For war had just begun!
A muster of the countrymen
Prepared to travel east,
But Eowyn was to be left behind
To guard their hall of feast.
A night passed in unhappiness,
No comfort from the moon.
Indeed no morning ever came,
Only the Dark of Doom.
But Eowyn was resolute,
She the King did not obey.
With mail corslet and silver sword
Among the men she made her way.
With the Eored of the King she rode
Through many perilous days,
Yet though she knew the danger
She would still not turn away.
At last the mighty Rohirrim
Came to the battle-ground.
And Theoden of the Riddermark
Led a charge of great renown.
Through countless ranks of enemy
His proud horse, Snowmane, flew.
Their banner he hewed to the ground,
Their leader Theoden slew.
The Rohirrim had changed the tide
Of battle on that day.
The fearful Darkness on the land
Began to go away.
But suddenly there was horror
As men looked toward the sky.
For they heard a screech of terror
And saw a shadow flying high.
Alas, the King of Darkness on a
Fell-winged steed had come,
So Snowmane reared with terror
Dumping Theoden to the ground.
Poor Theoden’s days were over as he
Was pinned beneath his steed,
With the ever-nearing evil wraith
Contemplating wicked deeds.
But Eowyn had observed the King
As doom upon him fell,
And the shield-maiden began the deed of which
Many tales would tell.
The evil wraith approached the King
To desecrate the dead.
Although the men were paralyzed
This maiden felt no dread.
Defying the dark she leaped from her horse,
Running to her liege’s side.
The fierceness of the shield-maiden
Made men’s eyes open wide.
“Come not between the Nazgul and his
Prey,” the Ringwraith said,
“Or he shall take thee to his land
Where thou wouldst wish for death.”
“Dost thou not know the prophecy,
No man may hinder me!”
These evil words of terror made
Men loath to watch and see.
“Thou dost not look upon a man
But a woman of the Mark!”
And as she threw her helmet down
Her hair lit up the dark.
“Be gone, foul dwimmerlaik,” she said,
“You stand before my kin,
For living or evil dark undead I
Will smite thee if I can.”
So firm a challenge her had not had
In this age of the land.
He charged the shield-maiden, a
Great mace in his hand.
He, with a screech, the mace let fall,
It broke her shield arm.
But suddenly with a cry of pain
He wheeled in alarm.
A Halfling, holbytla, had travelled
From a far-off land to war,
And seeing the peril of Eowyn
Had come to lend his sword.
As the Nazgul stood above Eowyn,
His mace raised in the air,
The Halfling’s sword thrust in his leg
And a howl went through the air.
The Ringwraith stumbled backward, now
Helplessly in pain,
For now the labors of Eowyn had
Not all been in vain.
Her sword she raised above his head,
Though none could see his flesh,
And driving her sword into his face
There came the howl of death.
The sword splintered and fragmented,
Eowyn fell to the ground.
The black breath was upon her
And she lay without a sound.
She was borne with honor from the
Field to the Tower of the Guard,
Where rested she among the slain
Of countless soldiers hard.
But ho! The mighty Aragorn to his
Kingdom had returned.
He won the battle on the field whence
Of Eowyn he heard.
“The hands of a King are healing hands,”
Said Ioreth the Old,
And Aragorn, the long lost King,
Knew healing arts of old.
He saved the valiant Eowyn
And left her to grow strong.
For he had still a war to fight
And soon he hurried on.
As Eowyn recovered, she
Longed for battle still;
A shield-maiden must prove herself
In times of dark and ill.
She met a young man, Faramir,
The ruler of the Tower.
For he too had been nearly killed
In Gondor’s darkest hour.
For Faramir this shield-maiden
Was a pleasant sight indeed,
And soon he fell in love with her
Though him she did not see.
Her heart on another man was set,
That ranger of the North.
She longed for news of battle
As the messengers rode forth.
But now the tidings darkened,
Turning new hope to despair.
And Faramir and Eowyn
Together began to fare.
The two proud warriors fell in love
Upon the Tower of the Sun.
And suddenly the tidings came that
The final war was won!
As all the western lands rejoiced with
Hard-earned victory,
The shield-maiden made it known that
Faramir’s wife she’d be.
The two were joined in happiness
As all the world rejoiced,
While all the blessings of Gondor and
The Rohirrim were voiced.
The two dwelled in Ithilien,
Land of eternal spring.
The two lived ever in happiness
Where birds and minstrels sing.
Oh, here is come the end of the
Lay of Eowyn-
The shield-maiden of the Mark; the
Princess of Ithilien.
~~*~~
The Fellowship
By: Olivia B
Legolas:
I shall came back in spring
when gold leaves fall from trees.
I shall come sit by the river
and dream of the seas.
Gimli:
I will come back to the mountain,
and look upon brethren who died.
Then I will dig down in the dark
for the true silver metal hide.
Boromir:
I will never come back home,
but my soul shall go to the hall
of my father’s kindred history,
now hear my horn’s last call.
Aragorn:
I must win my crown back by right,
and correct my ancestor’s bane.
I have used the sword that was broken,
to start the dominion of man’s reign.
Gandalf:
I will go back now across the seas,
for my work to bring peace here is done.
I have used magic, wisdom, and fireworks
so the hobbits can keep having fun.
Frodo:
I shall come back in summertime,
to my hole ‘neath the hill with round door.
I have saved my lovely Shire land,
but my calling is to a distant seashore.
Sam:
I came back to the lover I left,
to my garden and hedge’s home.
I have been the most faithful companion,
but my heart wants a hole to roam.
Pippin:
I came back from battles with plenty,
and served as a white tree guard man.
I left my home as a fool, but lo
I returned a great soldier of the land.
Merry:
I shall come back a new, wiser hobbit,
for I saw war but pain did not stop me.
I fought with horse lords in a great battle,
and saw sights I never thought I’d see.
~~*~~
Arwen’s Song
By Elessar’s Queen
We met at dusk in Imladris wood;
He called, “Tinúviel!”
As Beren called in years long past,
Far west of Rivendell.
In Lórien of singing gold
We met at length once more;
I plighted troth to Arathorn’s son
On Amroth’s hill of lore.
I turned away from Elven-home
And gave to him my love;
Immortal life I rejected then
And naught could my heart move.
Estel went far a-journeying
Till war inevitable came.
Through Eru’s grace Ring passed away,
The Shadow fell in shame.
In City of Kings our hands were joined
At midsummer of year;
And though he’d kingdom, wealth, and power,
‘Twas me he held most dear.
But at long last his years were spent;
He lay in Silent Street
As still and cold as hardest stone.
Our son took Estel’s seat.
I chose to bear the Doom of Men
That day so long ago;
I now must bear the Doom of Men,
Would I or would I no.
I’ll not be conquered at last test –
I who renounced the Foe.
There’s life past death, His gift to Men,
Relief from bitter load.
My mortal love, I grieve for you
Beneath these fading trees
Of what was once fair Lórien,
Forsaken for the seas.
I too now lay me down to sleep
Upon this hill of ours,
To lie, perchance, forevermore
In nature’s golden bower.
O Elbereth Gilthoniel,
Your daughter Arwen sleeps.
O Eru, take me to Your land
Beyond the Sundered Seas.
~~*~~
Read all the poems submitted for August here.
Click here to read the complete collection in The Great Hall of Poets.
