A Sense of History: Straight Road
The next in a series of articles about ships passing to and from the West, Simon uses "The Fall of Númenor" to attempt to arrive at Tolkien's reading of the exordium to "Beowulf."
I.
Arien burns
I see her arcing across the sky.
Brilliant.
Flaming.
Morgoth is afraid of her.
So too would I be-
If she glanced me with all the power
of her fiery gaze,
if I saw her-
bearing the last light of Laurelin.
I would fear her
if she were not on our side.
Arien burns
Hot and angry
She will never forget the death of the Trees.
Her anger will never be extinguished.
Her hate for him will go on
until the ending of the world.
II.
I love Arien.
In the beginning
Arien and I lit the sky together,
but our lights proved too great.
And at Varda’s command
we were sundered.
Now.
We journey in a circle,
each following the other.
I am bound to this boat.
Yet sometimes,
I break my orbit.
I would reach her.
Her presence burns me
I would be ashes
if I stayed.
So I retreat.
She is too bright for me.
I am bound to be her other half.
the moon spirit,
night to her day.
I am content to follow,
together and apart
Following our arcs in the heavens
forever.
III.
My love,
she is heat
fire.
But I
am
cool and night and rest.
My light brings
peace.
I shine on the world,
gently
warding darkness away,
aiding sleep.
I do not burn away the stars,
when my boat draws near them.
They are my companions
always.
As I sail through the darkness.
And in front of me,
far away,
I see Arien’s inferno of light
drawing me on
forever more.
And I am
content.