1. Discovery
I have learned the beauty
of that which was strange,
buried, alien, chilly, gemmed;
I have learned to descend
and breathe the untried air,
and acclimate my eyes
to the richness of dark worlds;
to see gardens, clouds, mansions,
fair hands, lanterns, dancers
far below the light; to dive
for pearls where water is not,
to drift and dream in wakeful splendor,
wishing not to rise until
my heart has been filled with colors
the sun has never touched,
and revel in the leafless glory
that has been hidden
from every winking star.
And I have learned the freshness
of that which once was acrid,
foreign, barricaded, aloof;
I have learned to ascend
and stretch in your untried shine,
and acclimate my soul
to the richness of your valor;
to hear poetry, longing, bells,
laughter, history, praises
melded in the fore, to smile
in the fluency of our walking,
two beings who once stood at blade's edge,
wishing not to cross into
the spheres of each other's glowering;
but now bear friendship's colors
and rejoice in the distant singing
of waves that shall bear us
to chambers yet unknown.
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.
The description of the caverns was so inspiring...I surprised myself! Thanks so much for commenting!