Welcome to The Great Hall of Poets, our poetry feature showcasing the talent of Middle-earth fans. 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.
Andreth’s Lament
by Caroline Flynn
The trees are bare, the wind is chill But I remember the spring upon Dorthonion’s hill. My hair is grey, my eyes grow dim Yet they brighten when I recall him.
But between us a wide gulf spanned Unbridgeable by any earthly hand. I looked upon his flame, bright as the midnight star – A light I could only behold from afar.
For he was a child of the earth’s morn: I, mortal man’s daughter born. He, an Elda, for whom the ages flow by, I, of the Edain, doomed to age and die.
Yet our hands touched in the night, And I felt his flame, sharp and bright That burned in his eyes, touched his golden hair And touched the heart of a maid, young and fair.
Joy for a short time, then long sorrow And the dawn of our love had no morrow. Did I alone love in those blissful days? For in the end, you turned away.
On a grey morning you set forth Answering the war-horns of the North. Was it mist upon your face, or tears, As you left me behind to fading years?
Youth’s years may indeed have been few, But all I would have given to stand beside you! Did you spurn the love I thought we had before? I never asked, I saw you never more.
But in the regret, I found a friend, As your brother sought the hurt to mend. And he said that your love had been great, And only unwillingly did you separate our fates.
But as we sat and by the fire spoke, My hurt was healed, hope awoke. I understood that you were not free, But that you loved me as I loved thee.
In fire you fell, named the Sharp-flame. But my memories shall no longer be regret and blame. O irony! That I, the fading mortal Shall outlive thy years immortal.
Farewell, my beloved! If beyond death’s rift – Death, in hope Iluvatar’s gift – Await me, remember me, beyond the night Where shines the Everlasting Light.
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Behold the Orc!
By Jennifer Russell
Behold the Orc, for such are we, Spawned by fell necromancy From steaming stinking depths we crawl A curse on our heads and siblings all, When we emerge from pits of hell We blindly follow, swarm pell-mell By Elven folk and men reviled No more no less an evil child With blackest thoughts and what ere’ defiled Scorned and hated Yet we were created.. Is it not said that from the Elves, We were but moulded from themselves? Those perfect beings so fair so wise From them, in twisted aspect, guise? Are we but YOU in fell disguise? Ah think before you scorn and sneer It is not us the Orc’s you fear.. Against your so called light you need… Our darkness and our foulest deed!
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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.
Composer and sound engineer Jordan Rannells (who you might recall from his acclaimed The Lord of the Rings ambient audio soundscape project) has just released a new, immersive work designed to synchronise with Andy Serkis’s unabridged audiobook reading of The Silmarillion.
The project, called The Soundscape of Eä, follows The Silmarillion’s full journey from the Music of the Ainur and the formation of the world, through the wars of Beleriand, and more.
Rannels says that the new soundscape is timed to exactly match Serkis’s audiobook reading, and combines foley audio, original music, ambient nature recordings, and carefully timed sound effects, all engineered in Dolby Atmos to deliver a 3D immersive audio journey through J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
“This is not just a bit of added music: it changes how we can experience these stories,” he says. “We get to hear the song of the Ainur. The hissing and darkness of Ungoliant, and the might of Ancalagon in the War of Wrath.”
Get 25% off any of Jordan Rannell’s soundscapes with TORn
Until January 6, TORn readers can get 25% off not only The Soundscape of Eä, but any of Rannell’s soundscapes over on his website. Just use the special code TORN25 at checkout.
You can also listen to a few samples from The Soundscape of Eä in the Youtube clip below:
The release of The Soundscape of Eä also means listeners are now able to sync an immersive audioscape to Harper Collins’ audiobooks of the three key works of Tolkien’s legendarium: The Silmarillion, The Hobbit (An Unexpected Soundscape), and The Lord of the Rings (A Long-Expected Soundscape). Handily, if this appeals to you, Rannells has bundled them all together in The Legendarium Collection.
