Look this iron yet unwrought, humming still of rocks and stone,
Tall the pillars, hidden rivers, stalagmites meet stalactites tall,
Silver light of distant stars, in crystal blooms of caves unknown.
See the torchlight flicker flaming, reveal treasure in earthen walls,
In Eldar days in ancient friendship, singing rang in caverns deep,
Joined by dwarven skill in delving, shaped with care by Elven hammer,
As shining stars the ceiling jewelled, stones with joy new patterns keep,
Never silent fell the forges, ever fair the ageless grandeur.
Stones rejoice for fair we formed, each and every stone that paved,
The paths bright, where Finrod’s Folk, thought to hide from Morgoth’s ire,
With cunning skill great tales telling, carved on every architrave,
To stand against the hatred strong, to build a realm was our desire.
There the river Narog roared, in the moon a stream of mithril,
As ancient trees upon the hills, bowed before the shining stars,
Young the sun in laughter looking, on glinting leaves like Elven beryls,
Hidden guards their bows a-singing, lest shadow Taur-en-Faroth mar.
In fierce defiance of dragon fire, now I shape this iron cold,
With each stroke and ornament, Elven vengeance yet undying,
To once again preserve in peace, the craft and beauty of our holds,
And remember ancient friendship, for allies old this hammer swinging.
“During the Siege of Barad-dûr, an Arnorian soldier spent some time learning weaponsmithing from an Elf in the host of Gil-Galad, Gelilthor of Nargothrond. Together they sought to repair weapons of both armies, and when rarely time allowed, to forge weapons to replace those that were beyond repair.
He wrote in a letter to his wife of his annoyance with the Noldo for losing track of the task at hand, for oft she wandered into stories and ancient poems, treating them as an indispensable part of the crafting process. Though when he suggested focusing only on the smithing to the Elf, she in confusion stated that the ways of men were strange to her, and how he thought to create weapons that would stand against the enemy apart from the history and thought of that which for long ages had stood against Sauron and his master, she did not know.
This letter was found amid lists of Arnorians who died in the siege, suggesting that he died soon after the letter was written. He records this poem as beginning one of the lessons.” —Relations between common Arnorian soldiers and the Eldar during the Siege of Barad-dûr, by Elisende.
