Tomorrow is Tolkien Reading Day! And as so many of us are social distancing and staying at home right now, let’s get our copies down off the shelves and share some favourite paragraphs together. Farmer Giles, Roverandom, Father Christmas Letters, The Hobbit – whatever works by the Professor take your fancy, head on over to the message boards or the Facebook group, and post a passage for us all to enjoy.

Our good friends at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt have put together an online kit to inspire you, including maps, trivia, and a complete list of Tolkien’s works. Check it out, here. Let’s escape together into the pages of a book by our favourite author!

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 Lord of Water

by D.McGlinchey

I move through the world via many paths .
Each pathway leads to me and I cover this Middle Earth.
Nowhere is beyond my reach.
For if I am hindered
I may take to the sky to fall again anew,
Where each raindrop may carry a message from me,
Each teardrop you shed a tale from you.
Through the scars of the land I move unassailed.
In my depths I hold memories and great tales never told.
For the memories and tales are as the Great River’s roar.
Each crash is a cry out.
Each trickle a whispered sigh.
The thunder of Rauros echoes of a thousand battles,
Whilst the screens of a waterfall have hidden the events that began them!

Not for me the grand halls and graces of Valinor,
Nor the rugged beauty of the lands of Arda.
It is Ulmonan holds my heart.
The depths of my oceans and the calm of my seas offer seclusion enough.
But beware my wrath and cherish my pity
For I am ever present to protect.
To guide.
To avenge.
For I offer both mercy and punishment to the Children of Illúvatar
I will speak with Nàmo and Manwë if need, within the Máhanaxar
And forestall the works of Melkor
For I am of the Eight,
The Aratar
The Holy Ones of Arda
And I remain.

~~ * ~~

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.

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.

Lady Forest

by: Tom Frye

Kissed by the sun, embraced by the morning,
The Forest sheds her cloak of Night.
She slips into a gown of mist,
She wove herself, by Morning light.

In Amber rays, the Forest dances,
In hidden glens within the hills.
Barefoot, she glides through open meadows,
Tip-toes her way past silver rills.

Her gown of mist trails behind her,
Fluttering in the morning wind,
Adorned with gems and sparkling jewels.
The rising sun did surely send.

© Copyright 2000 by Tom Frye

~~ * ~~

Diminished

by David McGlinchey

Dimmer now the light of day
Less bright the stars at night
Sparser grow the woods and plant’s
For the Elves have gone away.

Less beauty now to look upon
More haste to get things done.
No care to share for others around.
For the Ents now too have gone.

No words of power for moonlight door.
No Blue, Grey, Brown or White
No reasoned words to guide us on
When Istari remove their light.

~~ * ~~

A Hobbits Poem

by: Sarah W.

Far o’er the Misty Mountains cold
Where Smaug sleeps upon a lair of gold
A burglar hides with the One Ring
Nothing to aid him, but trusty Sting

Soon the dragon wakes and leaves his den
Heads for Lake Town, anger aimed for men
Bard the bowman shoots, Smaug falls dead
But Thorin still yearns for a crown on his head

They wish for a share of wealth, men and elves alike
Long they tarry, ere they strike
Soon come goblins and orcs from caves below
From below the mountains, their hearts hollow

Battle cries ring sharply in the air
Mere minutes pass, ere Dain and his dwarves are there
Burglar slips away from what he sees
Wishing to be home, by the fire, sipping tea

All ends, but not in fire, and victory crawls near
With parting farewells, Bilbo heads back to his hole so dear
The war is over the journey is done
For now evil is gone, there is nothing to fear

~~ * ~~

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.

Join Fili and Kili to learn a festive craft that can be used as both a decoration and to feed local wildlife! Click here to watch the new episode!

Looking to capture some hobbity festive fun? Then also check out Happy Hobbit’s Christmas playlist here!

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.

Long Roads

by: T. Frye

The long road lies before you,
a far journey to reach your goal.
Miles of endless traveling,
but take comfort, O weary Soul.

Though you may seem from nowhere,
Where you stand and where you’ve been
It’s slow and steady progress,
not a race that you must win.
All short-cuts with little traveling,
lead nowhere in the end.

So, if the road seems long, now.
And the journey much too tough.
Remember, gems and jewels,
are cut from rougher stuff.

And though it’s quite a struggle,
with Apathy a constant foe.
It’s the journey on the longer roads,
that helps your soul to grow.

So stay steady on your journey,
and surely you’ll succeed,
and claim the golden harvest,
where before were only seeds.

©
Copyright 1999

~~ * ~~

Saruman’s fall from grace

by D.McGlinchey

Oh Grima, Grima, Grima.
What am I to do?
Those ungrateful Horse Lords won’t submit
Now the Ents are rebelling too.
They can’t see I was chosen to rule
They cant see, because their blind!
Oh Grima, Grima, Grima.
What am I to do?

We have an army Master.
Made worthy for our Mordor Lord
We have broke the back of the Horse Kings force.
They lie scattered at the Issen’s ford
Don’t worry Master Saruman.
Grima will come through.
I’ve planted the seeds in the old Kings brain.
Now he’ĺl surely bow to you?

Oh Grima, Grima, Grima.
If only that were true.
They let old Gandalf Stormcrow in and he’s tricked both me and you!
His white light’s pushed me from the door.
He’s brought help to the Golden Hall.
Oh Grima, Grima, Grima.
Fangorn marches to my wall!

What does the Great Eye tell you Lord?
What do your Wizard eyes see?
Does it show the defeat of the Horse Lords host?
Does it show who you promised for me?
I have done as my Master bade me.
I have betrayed both kith and kin.
Now the host is banging at the door.
Should I go and let them in?

Oh Grima, Grima, Grima!
What a worthless worm you are.
You’ve failed in your quest to turn the King
There’s enemies both near and far!
Demanding the keys to the Orthanc tower
Ignoring what the Palantir shows.
The Horse King wants to hang me high
On my gibbet for the sport of crows!

Calm yourself, my Master
There’s still time for us to away.
We’ll take the secret passages out of here.
Long before the light of day.
We’ll start anew now Master
We’ll travel from West to East.
We’ll help the Black Hand conquer all
And revel in the feast!

Oh Grima, Grima, Grima
Your as blind as that walking tree!
You know not of the Dark Lords plans,
He won’t share his throne with me.
I’ll have my revenge, my Wormtongue.
Reaped with blood and fire.
Gather our things now Grima.
We go to repay the Shire!

~~ * ~~

Inner Light

by Freeman Ng

~~ * ~~

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.

Since 2007, the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas has hosted a marathon screening of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, and on January 9th, 2020 they’ll be doing it again! Join me, staffer deej, and a couple hundred other Tolkien fans as we watch the Extended Editions (are there any other?) and feast on 7 courses of delicious food and drink (served at Hobbit meal times, of course). Alamo are also partnering with the charity Comicbooks for Kids, who provide comic books to kids in hospitals and cancer centers. I’ll have some OneRing.net goodies to hand out, too! You can get ticket prices and see the AMAZING menu they have whipped up here.

Tickets go on sale Monday, December 9th; sign up on the Alamo Facebook and Twitter pages for sale times and additional information.