~ by Natalie Herr

Standing alone

Facing the Eye

Fate staring me in the face.

With a burden ‘round my neck,

Far heavier than the unadorned ring that it is,

I am dragged down under its weight.

Nothing stands between me and the wheel of fire;

The veil has been lifted.

The threads of the Vaire’s tapestries have chosen me,

A humble hobbit from the land untouched

By stinging ash or putrid smoke,

To complete this quest.

Creeping my way towards the towering furnace

In which the thing was wrought so many ages ago,

I long to be rid of the Load, this Filth –

A mammoth task for such a small Halfling.

Here, at the end of all things, I stand alone;

With no one but my faithful companion Samwise

And a slinking, withered creature

Whose greed and lust will be his ruin.

Here, at the end of all things, where fate will be decided;

Where evil will conquer and all hope will vanish,

Or be vanquished, and peace restored;

Where the Heroes of Ea desire not riches or fame,

But the comforts of home.

Here.

At the end of all things.