Drabbling again again...
Nov. 27th, 2004 12:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
altarielDwimordene just posted a series of drabbles that are well worth reading: Civitas Mundi: "A quintet of drabbles held together loosely by the theme of civil strife and the view from the losing side. Such is the way of the world, that all endeavors undermine themselves in the end, and not simply for lack of good will..."
They had me drabbling in response; here are mine.
Gloria Mundi
1. The Sins of the World
King's Man, he swore, and he holds himself to that promise. Tar-Palantír looked too much to the past, he thinks, Ar-Pharazôn too little. But is not their land the greatest, the most glorious of all the works of Men? Who could not but serve such a vision?
Armenelos tarnishes under the canopy of smoke. He is at Lond Daer, stripping the land of trees and people. Anadûnê needs the timber, Ar-Pharazôn needs the men.
Then comes the time when the sea boils and rages, and the western sky bleeds. Later, he bends before Elendil. King's Man, he swears, and weeps.
2. Storied Webs
Her people write no words. The men sing their deeds, the women stitch stories. Her hanging adorns the new-minted hall; Eorl's ride from the North. In the corner she has sewn a canopy of trees, honouring the White Lady that guided her people to their new home, that lit their way south.
Seven mounds upon the left, and nine upon the right. A boy points to the dark trees and scares his sister with stories of the Witch that lives in the Wood. Later, legends will rise up from the grass before him. Later, he will tell the tale differently.
3. After Such Knowledge
Malbeth is blind now. In his youth, he saw further than any other, and told kings all that he could see. He spoke plainly, and did not care to gild his words.
Too late, but Malbeth perceived his vanity. Too late he understood why men do not care to hear the truth, nor care to hear their faults, nor care to hear their fates.
Malbeth is blind now, as they are deaf. His voice dries, and he speaks only in whispers. Who cares? The world he has known is passing, and he passes with it. Only the dead are listening.
4. Sic Transit
"Hallas, I have only a little time left now...
"Such dreams I dared for Gondor in my youth! And yet not one will I see come to pass. Such it is with all the works of Men, I deem; they are begun before us, they are ended after us, beyond our sight...
"And yet... there we stood, together on the hill of Awe, and as the sun sank westwards we swore such an oath that none since Elendil himself have dared... Hold to it, Hallas! Hold to your faith and what we serve!"
Thus passes Cirion, twelfth Steward of Gondor.
5. Miserere
Nienna has wept tears uncounted, since first brother turned against brother. Nienna has wept for every drop of blood. Ever she will come to Mandos, and the cries of those who wait come unto her.
Vairë hears them too, but keeps to her loom. Vairë holds to Mandos.
Nienna weeps, and at times her sister weeps with her. But Vairë still keeps to her loom. For she has learned from Lórien; has learned from the master of the power of visions and dreams. And so Vairë will keep to her loom - for even Mandos, once, was moved to pity.
They had me drabbling in response; here are mine.
Gloria Mundi
1. The Sins of the World
King's Man, he swore, and he holds himself to that promise. Tar-Palantír looked too much to the past, he thinks, Ar-Pharazôn too little. But is not their land the greatest, the most glorious of all the works of Men? Who could not but serve such a vision?
Armenelos tarnishes under the canopy of smoke. He is at Lond Daer, stripping the land of trees and people. Anadûnê needs the timber, Ar-Pharazôn needs the men.
Then comes the time when the sea boils and rages, and the western sky bleeds. Later, he bends before Elendil. King's Man, he swears, and weeps.
2. Storied Webs
Her people write no words. The men sing their deeds, the women stitch stories. Her hanging adorns the new-minted hall; Eorl's ride from the North. In the corner she has sewn a canopy of trees, honouring the White Lady that guided her people to their new home, that lit their way south.
Seven mounds upon the left, and nine upon the right. A boy points to the dark trees and scares his sister with stories of the Witch that lives in the Wood. Later, legends will rise up from the grass before him. Later, he will tell the tale differently.
3. After Such Knowledge
Malbeth is blind now. In his youth, he saw further than any other, and told kings all that he could see. He spoke plainly, and did not care to gild his words.
Too late, but Malbeth perceived his vanity. Too late he understood why men do not care to hear the truth, nor care to hear their faults, nor care to hear their fates.
Malbeth is blind now, as they are deaf. His voice dries, and he speaks only in whispers. Who cares? The world he has known is passing, and he passes with it. Only the dead are listening.
4. Sic Transit
"Hallas, I have only a little time left now...
"Such dreams I dared for Gondor in my youth! And yet not one will I see come to pass. Such it is with all the works of Men, I deem; they are begun before us, they are ended after us, beyond our sight...
"And yet... there we stood, together on the hill of Awe, and as the sun sank westwards we swore such an oath that none since Elendil himself have dared... Hold to it, Hallas! Hold to your faith and what we serve!"
Thus passes Cirion, twelfth Steward of Gondor.
5. Miserere
Nienna has wept tears uncounted, since first brother turned against brother. Nienna has wept for every drop of blood. Ever she will come to Mandos, and the cries of those who wait come unto her.
Vairë hears them too, but keeps to her loom. Vairë holds to Mandos.
Nienna weeps, and at times her sister weeps with her. But Vairë still keeps to her loom. For she has learned from Lórien; has learned from the master of the power of visions and dreams. And so Vairë will keep to her loom - for even Mandos, once, was moved to pity.
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no subject
Date: 2004-11-27 02:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-29 05:32 am (UTC)And hope you feel better soon.
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Date: 2004-11-27 02:08 pm (UTC)Although number two is perhaps not the strongest illustration of that point (after all, it "only" talks about the Rohirrim learning about the true nature of Galariel, not about an event as grand as the deeds of Lúthien), it is the drabble which I like best: It conveys very nicely one of the most outstanding features of the Rohirric culture, its orality/lack of literacy and also captures the major themes of Lord of the Rings (the passing of legends and their conservation in tales only) in so few words.
Thank you very much for posting all of them!
P.S: Do we get a reward for spotting gratuitous T.S.Eliot references? :D
no subject
Date: 2004-11-27 02:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-29 05:36 am (UTC)Sort of... I think one or two of them are about that. Although I think mainly the drabbles are about playing the long game, even in the face of defeat. And that the meaning of events shifts: that's partly what the second one is about, I think.
There are always points for spotting gratuitous TSE references! I'd like to think that the references are not always gratuitous, LOL!
no subject
Date: 2004-11-30 05:04 am (UTC)