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Fading of the Morning Star: The Lament of Luthien in the Halls of Mandos
11:20 Mar 12 2013
Times Read: 512






This poem requires a bit of an introduction as it is meant to depict an epic, and unwritten, moment in the history of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth. A true masterpiece of Tolkien's work is the story of Beren, a human man, and Luthien Tinuviel, an Elvish princess. Their love and the insurmountable odds that they had to overcome so that they could be together rivals the beauty and perfection of the story of Romeo and Juliet. The fate of Beren and Luthien was also a tragedy that was just as heart wrenching and beautiful. The picture above depicts Luthien Tinuviel weeping at the feet of Mandos, the keeper of spirits who have passed on and the master of earthly fate.



The words on the picture are a direct quote from Tolkien's book the Silmarillion and it was that passage which inspired me to write this poem. Tolkien never shared with the public what Luthien's Lament was or what it sounded like, but I craved to hear it, so I chose to attempt to write it myself. I now give to you The Fading of the Morning Star: The Lament of Luthien in the Halls of Mandos.



In a time near dawn on the eve of Spring,

Whilst dancing on in meadows green,

I heard as for first time calling,

The whisper of my name was falling.



Keen, piercing, was the echo of my soul.

It was Beren; my heart, my love, my lord.



At his call my doom took flight,

As the lark that rises o'er Gates of Night.



His voice poured songs amid stars now dying.

In life made anew, I embraced him, crying.



Frozen waters, their courses then flowing,

My lifeless fate began its growing,

Giving Hope at last to Kindred lonely,

As waking flowers spread in the gloaming.



My love, my life, Beren had become.

Eru's Two Kindred were then made one.



At last, Beren Erchamion had come.

Morning Star fades now in light of Sun.



At my father's word, to win my hand,

Beren must wrest a Jewel from out of Angband.



In his fate I was gratefully caught,

Being free before, only in thought.

Receiving chains of mortality bitter,

Flower of the Eldar now must wither.



Wound together in twisting fates,

Our love overcame Masters of Hate.



Through dark and light, mist and shade,

Ancient Foes' wrongs unmade.



At last, a Silmaril we found,

Pried with haste from Morgoth's Crown.



Beneath the Moon, beneath the Sun,

Our lives we sought and hardly won.

To lose you now that Shadow's fallen,

Slays the light 'twas born in Hollin.



Farewell to love, to Hope, to light;

Farewell, alas, to Beren's great might.



Though all to ruin the world should fall,

Ever now, my heart will call.....



In dusk, in dawn, in Moon and in Sea,

Ever shall I yearn for thee.



Our love, which crumbled darkest towers,

Must now submit to Arda's Powers.

Eru's gifts are left unplundered.

Two Kindreds torn and ever sundered.



Though all be lost, all beauty unmade,

Our love alights the eveing shade.



In love and loss, I still call for thee.

In you, for a time, Tinuviel could be.



When Days go down into the West,

Even then, my heart shall find no rest.



In losing you, Timeless Halls are broken,

For ne'er was a greater love thus spoken.....



Ne'er a tale of greater mirth nor woe,

All was worthy if world could know,

Though faith and Hope are lost to me,

A forbidden love, for a time, could be.



Heart doth long for breath unending,

For loss of you is beyond all mending,

As even in bliss of Valinor,

I cannot reach your Hither Shore.



~BaronessGreycastle

Hope Fades
06:40 Mar 10 2013
Times Read: 522






Your voice was once so warm and tender

And loving you was sweet surrender.

Your eyes once held my spirit reflected,

But you cast me aside, my love rejected.



Now slain is Hope and gone is pride.

In grief I weep. In loss I writhe.

Draw thick the veil o'er golden Sun.

It's glow grows pale, a sickly wan.



Now joy comes thin and laughter comes slow,

And moments drag on in Time's grueling flow.

Though lost to me is lover's bliss,

Yet was all made good for this:



The Wind, the Stars, the Moon and Sea -

That your kiss once breathed sweet life in me.

Though life once filled each breath I drew,

My Hope was lost when I lost you.



~BaronessGreycastle

Hope's Meadow
21:49 Mar 05 2013
Times Read: 531






Blooming inner worlds that once my Spirit made,

In loss of love, in black despair, have all begun to fade.

Ears grow deaf to vows that courage, one day, shall win,

That dawn is not forever lost, nor paths to world within.



When change seems never coming and eyes can scarcely see,

Rays of Hope come streaming down from amid the starry sea.

Tis holy light which shines in Ancient Halls,

A silver flame, flickering bright, to comfort spirit's calls.



Oh shining star of Estel, Hope unwavering in blackest night

My Morning and my Evening Star bathes me in silvery light.



My troubled soul knows no peace and gone is Spirit's ease.

When all I loved is lost I cry, "When will torment cease?"

When all seems forever dark, all goals tempest tossed,

The She I Would Become calls out, "Don't leave me neath the frost."



I once believed, deep within, that vision certainly would be;

That the She I loved and honored, one day, would be me.

But life has hurt and ravaged me, filled my mind with doubt.

In faith I once did seek Her, to Spirit I reached out.



I found Her in my Spirit, once upon a time.

From ancient pains I saved Her, healed and made Her mine.

When dreams of home and hearth I found, only then to lose,

I turned my back on Meadow within, for She could no longer soothe.



When all I ever loved or wanted was then stripped from me,

I could no longer believe in Her because I could no longer see,

That still She came to me, even in blackest Night.

Meadow showed Her love for me from high and lofty light.



My tears have made an ocean. My soul is cast to the Sea.

This dark night seems endless, but Meadow cries, "Please remember me!

"Let me raise this veiling grief and let your Spirit fly.

Give me your shattered Hopes and touch the face of starry sky.



"Love and trust me now, as once you did before.

Return to Blossoming Meadow and your Spirit again will soar.

When dawn seems forever lost and face is etched with tears,

Return to Meadow's Blooming Glens and forget the haunted years."



Oh shining Star of Estel, Hope Unwavering in blackest Night.

My Morning and my Evening Star bathes me in silvery light.



Though mourning cries in Ageless Night hath drowned me in despair,

I reach for Meadow's tender voice which call me back to where,

A place of quiet refuge endures within my soul,

A place of inner strength where all I am is whole.



This world within my Spirit, it will never die,

No matter what I've lost, nor how my heart doth cry.

Now I know, though broken heart feels pain,

When this long night is over, Meadow shall rise again.



~Baroness Greycastle

Night's Garden
19:23 Mar 05 2013
Times Read: 535






'Neath Moon and stars in silvery hues,

I walk through worlds of shining blue.

In gentle song my mind is showered

By breezes sighing through leaf and flower.



On dappled walks of powdery grey,

By frothy brook I find my way.

'Neath hanging lavender swaying soft

Glide swans of white. I come here oft.



By Mirrormere I gently lay

'Neath silver willows that lightly sway.

Up the hill to Dreaming Tree I go

Where blossoms blue and white doth glow.



As markasite that softly shines,

It's branched taper thick to fine.

Smooth as glass it trunk doth rise

From swaying meadows 'neath starry skies.



In heavy whispers beyond my sight

Waves are crashing 'neath seagulls flight.

On white beaches soft jewels are strewn

While Shoreland shells pipe Ocean's tune.



Those gilded arches and bars are bright,

Shining silver-blue, casting pearly light.

The Timeless Halls are onyx black

But Gates of Night still call me back



Where, like fairies, Sparklings dance,

Lulling the mind in carefree trance

And hidden choirs make whispered songs

From Dusk to Dawn in Twilight long.



Yet here do pain and griefs give way

In silver foams that rush and sway

O'er stones washed soft and smooth.

'Neath starry bowers I'm always soothed.



Bell-buds chime in lazy sway

While lining walks of cloudy grey.

On hanging vines sterling roses climb

Perfuming air till drowsed is time.



Fields of gold hold warmth and cheer,

But it's Timeless Halls that I hold dear.

Whatever cares waking world doth bring,

'Tis in Moonlit Glens my heart shall sing.



~Baroness Greycastle