21. "It Will Come Gently"
It will come gently, when it comes for you
and so I will not fear.
No leering face of evil will it wear
no stench of grave will sully its grey gown
no rasp will quell the lulling of its song
but as a mother lifts her sleepy child
to lay it in its bed of final softness
it will come gently
have no fear.
It will come gently, as we stand and watch
and know that it must be.
You'll smile on us and bid us not to weep
and tell us we were all you could desire
and bless our faces with your parting light
but grief will be our house-guest just the same
to hold us when we wake from shaking dreams
still it will come gently
we'll have no fear
when at long last it comes
with its unfaltering steps
as yet it will.
by Anemone Baggins
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.
