Meriadoc
A wood to wander in
Dark, forgotten.
Who am I?
‘I’m scared, Merry’
So am I, so am I
‘It’s all right, Pip’
My name is Meriadoc
Cousin to Frodo
Who bears the Ring.
Brush off your jacket
Straighten your waistcoat.
Who will remember me?
A little name in a great tale.
‘We’re lost, Merry’
Pawns on a chessboard
Of the Immortals.
Knight to king in three
The Black Castle waits
To checkmate us all.
Sweep us off the board,
Into the fire, lost.
‘I’m hungry, Merry!’
Hush, you should never
Have come. But then,
Neither should I.
Remember the Pool
At Bywater?
Remember the trees?
Not like these.
Threatening, looming,
Questioning, hating.
‘I’m Meriadoc, just a pawn
Made of wood, just like you
Made to burn, just like you’
Where is the king?
The kindly old king?
Ridden down by evil
Another chessman lost.
Bury me with him
Deep in his tomb.
A ghost’s sword
In a pawn’s hand
Driven with all my strength
All the strength of the Shire
Struck by me
The enemy fades
Into that darkness
At the edge of nightmare
And took me too.
Endless sleep
Endless pain,
A high white tower
Far from home.
Say goodbye, Pippin,
Say good bye to me.
Meriadoc Brandybuck,
Careless soldier
Awake! From a King
To a Pawn, benediction
On the Eve of doom.
At dusk the crows fly West
After the sun, into the land
We left. The little fields,
Bright streams, slow mill wheels.
Never the same now.
In Gondor lie our tombs,
Railed off from the curious.
My name is Meriadoc
Cousin to Frodo,
Who bore the Ring.
- Varda
