Lady Evenstar
December 3rd,2002, 01:33 AM
My Lost Youth
Often I think of the beautiful town
That is seated in the Shire;
Often in thought go up and down
The pleasant streets of that dear place
And my youth comes back to me
And a verse of a Bilbo song
Is haunting my memory still:
'A boy's will is the wind's will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.'
I can see the shadowy lines of its trees,
And catch, in sudden gleams,
The sheen of the far-surrounding streams,
And gardens just reaching full bloom,
OF all my boyish dreams,
And the burden of that old song,
It murmers and whispers still:
'A boy's will is the wind's will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.'
I remember pebbles on the bank,
And holes upon the hill;
The sunrise with glowing red beams
The children laughing, o're and o're
And singing wild and shrill.
And the music of that old song,
Throbs in my memory still:
'A boy's will is the wind's will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.'
I can see the breezy dome of groves,
The shadow of the Great Forest;
And the friendships old and the early loves
Come back witha sorrowful sound, as of doves
Im quiet neighboring lands.
And the verse of that sweet old song,
It flutters and murmers still:
'A boy's will is the wind's will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.'
Strange to me are the forms I meet
So, I think back to that dear place
Where the native air is pure and sweet
And the tree that o'ershadow each well known street,
As the balance up and down,
And singing the beautiful song,
Are sighing and whispering still:
'A boy's will is the wind's will,
And the thought's of youth are long, long thoughts.'
And the Great Forest is fresh and fair,
And with joy that is almost pain
My heart goes back to wander there,
And among the dreams of the days that were,
I fing my lost youth again.
And the strange and beautiful song,
the groves are repeating it still:
'A boy's will is the wind's will,
And the thought's of youth are long, long thoughts.'
Author's Note: This is a revised version of Hendry Wandsworth Longfellow's poem "My Lost Youth." Bilbo never said the words quoted here, but they fit in with the poem and you can almost imagine his saying something of this sort to Frodo.
Often I think of the beautiful town
That is seated in the Shire;
Often in thought go up and down
The pleasant streets of that dear place
And my youth comes back to me
And a verse of a Bilbo song
Is haunting my memory still:
'A boy's will is the wind's will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.'
I can see the shadowy lines of its trees,
And catch, in sudden gleams,
The sheen of the far-surrounding streams,
And gardens just reaching full bloom,
OF all my boyish dreams,
And the burden of that old song,
It murmers and whispers still:
'A boy's will is the wind's will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.'
I remember pebbles on the bank,
And holes upon the hill;
The sunrise with glowing red beams
The children laughing, o're and o're
And singing wild and shrill.
And the music of that old song,
Throbs in my memory still:
'A boy's will is the wind's will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.'
I can see the breezy dome of groves,
The shadow of the Great Forest;
And the friendships old and the early loves
Come back witha sorrowful sound, as of doves
Im quiet neighboring lands.
And the verse of that sweet old song,
It flutters and murmers still:
'A boy's will is the wind's will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.'
Strange to me are the forms I meet
So, I think back to that dear place
Where the native air is pure and sweet
And the tree that o'ershadow each well known street,
As the balance up and down,
And singing the beautiful song,
Are sighing and whispering still:
'A boy's will is the wind's will,
And the thought's of youth are long, long thoughts.'
And the Great Forest is fresh and fair,
And with joy that is almost pain
My heart goes back to wander there,
And among the dreams of the days that were,
I fing my lost youth again.
And the strange and beautiful song,
the groves are repeating it still:
'A boy's will is the wind's will,
And the thought's of youth are long, long thoughts.'
Author's Note: This is a revised version of Hendry Wandsworth Longfellow's poem "My Lost Youth." Bilbo never said the words quoted here, but they fit in with the poem and you can almost imagine his saying something of this sort to Frodo.