The Dancers by Elleth

The Dancers

Read The Dancers

The Dancers

Sunset defeats the day's clear blue,
And 'gainst a pale lavender sky the stones
Of long-forsaken ruins glow in bloody red,
As they did times uncounted since the fall.

And still with fading light across the sky,
The waning day stirs whispers and wakes shades
That think the Gates of Summer are at hand,
And standing on the walls as though at dawn,
They raise their songs to greet the sinking sun.

With elven skill coaxed from these melodies
Flowers awake to bloom on through the night,
And trees unfold and birds join in the song
Of flutes and harps and voices in the town.

In the great square, a basin filled with dust
Is washed clean by a fountain brought to life,
And drops of water tinkle, whirl and flash,
And each a mirror of the stars' far lights.

Sheltered beneath the boughs of long-gone trees,
Overshadowed by old, ruined towers,
Processions form to dance and sing,
Moving through alleyways by ghostly lanterns lit.

Like shrouds of mist fair phantoms pass on by
And round they go, in dances, round and round -
Until a red-robed morning brings the light:
The Stone of Song lies silent once again.

Enchantments fade, and melodies;
The songs of water have gone quiet,
And flowers only grow to mark the spots
Where all the dancers rest beneath the sky.

---

Chapter End Notes

First written in 2006, revised and reworked in May 2009. Inspired by and based on a plot point of the Gondolin RPG, and if this poem is not strictly in accord with the Laws and Customs I still think it makes for an interesting what-if.

Last but not least, thanks, Dawn, for a fantastic betaing session.