devotion
by angela
lord of the rings
september 2006
Remember the Lady of the Golden Wood!
A fearsome power for all that is good—
Galadriel, Elf-queen beaut'ful and glorious,
Awesome and dazzling, brave and victorious.
Baptized Artanis and noble Nerwen,
She surpassed these epithets once and again,
With power eclipsing that of her blood—
As a figment of dreams, a visionary flood.
Foremost of the Noldor Galadriel was—
Save the fearless Fëanor, who rallied the cause
Against the Valar, the spirits fourteen
Who in Valinor dwelt, imposing and keen.
Refusing to stay, refusing to balk,
The long path of exile did she choose to walk:
And in the First Age she gracèd the soil
Of Middle-Earth with Galadriel's toil.
In secret Doriath she settled to stay,
And married the Elf-prince on a lovely day:
A kinsman of Thingol and Doriath prince,
Celeborn husband, loved ever since.
Celebrían daughter to Arwen gave birth,
Future wife of a man of grand worth,
Thus sparking the love that would span many years—
With Aragorn, valiant, absent of fear.
And when Nimrodel fled and Amroth did perish,
Defenceless lay Lórien, the land that they'd cherished.
So the Lord and the Lady looked over the wood:
The stronghold, the refuge, the fortress that stood.
But trouble was stirring far in the East:
The ego of Sauron grew cruel as a beast.
The One Ring he forged took hold over those
Who lusted for power, first and foremost.
Eregion's lord came to her for advice,
And showed her the Elven-rings they had made thrice,
Tricked by the sweetness of Sauron's speech
To fall ever silently under his reach.
Galadriel spoke, her voice strong and wise,
And commanded Celebrimbor the rings to hide
Until the One Ring had been found and destroyed,
A device of evil no longer employed.
And Nenya the mithril-ring she was bestowed,
Cool and calm, so pale that it glowed,
On the Lady's finger it found its true place,
Its power tempered by her great grace.
(But though Lórien flourished and her tree-groves thrived,
Her longing for the Sea the ring did revive;
And though the land grew stronger and bold,
Her love for Middle-Earth did somewhat grow cold.)
But she stayed nonetheless and defended the land,
Nenya flickering splendidly on her pale hand,
Keeping Sauron at bay with her power of will
And the wisdom she'd learned, miraculous skill.
In Caras Galadhon her Mirror she kept,
A shimmering basin of infinite depth.
It displayed the scenes from the present, the past,
Or limitless futures not yet come to pass.
To Frodo these visions Galadriel revealed:
The Sea, the darkness, the Eye unconcealed;
The White Tree of Gondor and seven tall tow'rs;
The end of the Earth, bereft of all flow'rs.
And the Ring-bearer proffered his burdenous care
With much-praiseful words, wise and fearless and fair,
And though her heart yearned for the power so vast,
She diminished at last: the test she had passed.
Refusing the ring, she consoled the Halfling
Whose charge to Mount Doom he was destined to bring,
But eight hearts wept still for Mithrandir's demise,
Battling the Balrog in that underground mine.
Courage she brought to those heavy-hearted
And gifts full of memory ere they departed:
Belts and a bow, a sword and a stone,
And the light of Eärendil—how brightly it shone!
Though the journey was long and wrought with despair,
She guarded their lives with wisdom and prayer;
Peace for the Halfling, and eternal rest,
A present to heal all the pain in his breast.
And when the task was completed and done,
All rejoiced gladly, for goodness had won.
Restored was the King, destroyed was the Ring,
And new in the Shire were beginnings of Spring.
But finally the Third Age had come to an end:
The time had come at last to transcend
Middle-Earth, and withdraw o'er Sea
To Valinor, home, and her destiny.
Galadriel, Lady, watch over us still!
For though you have sailed from the Havens at will,
Think of us kindly, and send us your light
To banish the dark on this tenebrous night.