The stars twinkle brightly.
Loud laughter from the pub.
Perhaps Merry and Pippin are there, dancing on tables?
Sam is happy with Rosie.
I am not happy.
Tell me, figment of my imagination,
Have you felt the cursed bite of the chill wind?
Have you felt the gnawing, ever-present hunger for something that you can never have?
This hunger,
Longing for the Ring,
Can never be filled.
Food turns to ash in my mouth,
Fevered, glowing eyes stare into the fire,
Remembering the golden shine,
The silken smoothness of the Ring's flawless surface.
I long for it,
Feel the howling emptiness that can never leave,
Remember the promises and reassurance that the Ring whispered.
Am I mad?
I don't doubt it.
Don't destroy me, it promised, and I shall make you happy beyond your wildest dreams.
I listened, felt the inexorable pull as it repaired my tattered soul, binding it together with the threads of power and evil.
I claimed it as my own, believing that I would be different from Sauron.
I felt the rush of power, saw a future in which I was Lord, and then saw the Shire, blackened and burning..
I did not care.
Then that twisted, hopeless Gollum bit my finger from my hand, that hollow void of emptiness in his being filled as he held the Ring before his hungered eyes.
He danced upon the ledge as I gazed, horrified, that my Ring was gone.
Danced, and in his joy, fell.
The dull throb of my wound exploded into piercing whiteness as I screamed.
A dark emptiness,
A howling, roaring abyss,
A perpetual hunger
Was ripped into my core.
Why did Sam save me?
Why couldn't I have died,
So that I wouldn't feel this siren call?
Footsteps on the road,
Drunken laughter and Sam's admonishing voice.
"Don't be so loud, you'll wake Mr. Frodo!"
Oh, I'm awake, Sam.
I'll always be awake.
I'll always feel the void.
Loud laughter from the pub.
Perhaps Merry and Pippin are there, dancing on tables?
Sam is happy with Rosie.
I am not happy.
Tell me, figment of my imagination,
Have you felt the cursed bite of the chill wind?
Have you felt the gnawing, ever-present hunger for something that you can never have?
This hunger,
Longing for the Ring,
Can never be filled.
Food turns to ash in my mouth,
Fevered, glowing eyes stare into the fire,
Remembering the golden shine,
The silken smoothness of the Ring's flawless surface.
I long for it,
Feel the howling emptiness that can never leave,
Remember the promises and reassurance that the Ring whispered.
Am I mad?
I don't doubt it.
Don't destroy me, it promised, and I shall make you happy beyond your wildest dreams.
I listened, felt the inexorable pull as it repaired my tattered soul, binding it together with the threads of power and evil.
I claimed it as my own, believing that I would be different from Sauron.
I felt the rush of power, saw a future in which I was Lord, and then saw the Shire, blackened and burning..
I did not care.
Then that twisted, hopeless Gollum bit my finger from my hand, that hollow void of emptiness in his being filled as he held the Ring before his hungered eyes.
He danced upon the ledge as I gazed, horrified, that my Ring was gone.
Danced, and in his joy, fell.
The dull throb of my wound exploded into piercing whiteness as I screamed.
A dark emptiness,
A howling, roaring abyss,
A perpetual hunger
Was ripped into my core.
Why did Sam save me?
Why couldn't I have died,
So that I wouldn't feel this siren call?
Footsteps on the road,
Drunken laughter and Sam's admonishing voice.
"Don't be so loud, you'll wake Mr. Frodo!"
Oh, I'm awake, Sam.
I'll always be awake.
I'll always feel the void.