The Baggins Birthday, the Day After ~ a new poem by jan-u-wine, with drawings by Alan Lee.

[mechtild]

~*~





Happy Late Birthday, Bilbo and Frodo....


I have said this is a new poem, but technically it is not. Jan-u-wine wrote "Birthday" late last fall, too late to post in the 2013 Baggins Birthday entry. I considered posting it during the intervening months, but the poem really is best suited to the day after September 22.

"Birthday" is about Bilbo, but it is just as much about Frodo, from whose point of view it is written. From that vantage point, we can enter into Frodo's thoughts and feelings, marveling as much at the beauty of his soul as that of the beloved hobbit he both mourns and celebrates.

A blessed birthday to you, Bilbo and Frodo, and may we meet beyond the Circles of the World.



~*~

Birthday


How might I forget?

How might I forget:
the very trees remind me,
burnt orange-red,

swift-falling leaves

fiercely recalling
the waist-coat he especially wore
in autumn,

the smudge-black of shadow'd bark
recollecting his quick,
clever eyes.

How might I forget
when I hear his voice,

calling within
the fading of the day,

rose clouds surrendering
to moon-graced night,

a little wind
whispering

among the waves
of an unseen shore.


Even the green of the grasses,
deep along the curve of a sundered road,
remind me of him,

even the silent glint of a solitary star
or the kindly song of a stream,

laughing along its course.

How might I forget?

And yet, I have.
I
did.

__________________________________

The road is deep in warm-autumn dust,

trees fragile with faded leaves,
falling with gentle sorrow where now he rests.

I stay for a while beside him,
though he has gone.

I stay for a while,
my mind strayed to other times,

other places.

His old walking stick lies,

crooked,
upon the ground
at my side,

the carved bowl of his favorite pipe,
skin-warmed,

within my hand.



Forgive me, Uncle.

I did not remember the day.

Rather,
I sought out,
in my grief,

all of them,
all of them

we shared.

Each moment of them,
an Adventure,

each hour a schooling
of heart and mind,

each day a
birth day.

Thank you, Uncle.

Never shall I forget
our

birth days.

~*~

* Drawings by Alan Lee, from headings of chapters 1 and 2 of The Hobbit (Houghton Mifflin, 1997).

Most recent Frodo entry:

~ "Hope" by jan-u-wine, art by John Cockshaw.

Other Links:

~ All entries featuring jan-u-wine's poems.

Comments

[lavendertook.livejournal.com]

This is beautiful, Jan. It's got more of the sweet than the bitter in it--more joy at the memory of time spent in good company than sadness at the loss--what a wonderful place to be and so glad Frodo has found it in contemplation of his beloved mentor/parent.

I love the phrase "moon-graced night."

This is a poem I will try to keep with me--a lesson in how to move past grief through gratitude for the time you had with the lost one.

Alan Lee is good at evoking this feeling, Mechtild--a sadness with more joy in it.

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

Egad, Lavender, what a beautiful comment. I agree, as you might guess, with everything you said, including about the Alan Lee drawings posted with this piece, but you say it so eloquently. This, especially, I should post on my wall:

This is a poem I will try to keep with me--a lesson in how to move past grief through gratitude for the time you had with the lost one.

[jan-u-wine.livejournal.com]

LT, I can only echo what Mechtild said: a comment most especially beautiful, and worth posting to the wall of self.

And the Lee pictures, which Mechtild choose: nothing might have suited better, I think.

since we've begun our journey here, it has become more and more evident the power that proper pictures and proper words, together, have. It's one of those pairing that geometrically grows in strength because of the union. Hats off to Mechtild for her wonderful choices. And thank *you* for visiting. I hope the job goeth well!