"Speak 'friend' and Enter," he does say,
But open not becomes the gate.
'Til "Mellon" is the word bespoke,
And we do enter in with hope.
Into the deep and darkened gloom,
The fetid smell of monstrous tomb.
A backward route we cannot take,
The Watcher now the doors does break.
Four days of darkness now wait for us,
In Gandalf do we place our trust.
A crossroads finally we reach,
To Frodo a lesson does Wizard teach.
And now a breath of fresher air,
We travel on down darkened stair.
Through the great halls of Dwarrowdelf.
Go Hobbit, Wizard, Man, and Elf.
'Til Gimli spots a lighted room,
His cousin Balin's cluttered tomb.
While Gandalf from the book he read,
Our hearts were filled with fear and dread.
And Pip in Curiosity's spell,
Did cause to fall into the well,
Bucket, chain and skeleton,
out of the darkness hear the drums.
The Orcs upon us troll do send,
A spear, a cry--is this the end?
But no Frodo he does live,
protection does the Mithril give.
And yet the orcs behind us come,
And Gandalf gives the order--Run!
Surrounded we become at last,
'Til from the Orcs we hear a gasp.
Shadow and flame is Durin's Bane
A Balrog from the darkness came.
Gandalf's cry then rent the doom,
We must now run to Khazad-dum.
The stairway there we find is broken,
"The end is near," the words unspoken.
Prince Legolas these words does say,
"Jump o'er to me," and saves the day.
Now Khazad's bridge at last we reach,
spanning cross the daarkened breach.
The Wizard pushes Aragorn,
"Lead them now, For this you're born."
And stands to face the Balrog's ire,
"I am keeper of sacred fire."
He cries, and then with sword and staff,
tells Balrog that he may not pass.
The creature into darkness slips,
And yet once more he cracks his whip.
"Gandalf!" we hear poor Frodo cry,
The Wizard's last word to us, "Fly!"
Aghast we run to reach the light,
Into the Dale and sunshine bright.
Yet black the day and dark our hearts,
Will ever be torn thus apart.
Bitter tears, they flow and flow,
'Til Aragorn tells us we must go.
Our feet we take now one and all,
But we'll ne'er forget the Wizard's fall.
Dark Moria, Bridge of Khazad-dum,
High was the cost of your dark gloom.
