First published in Cantos on February 24, 2026

By Douglas J. Lanzo
Copyright 2024

Dedicated to J.R.R. Tolkien and his Oxford Schoolmate, Geoffrey Bach Smith,
who succumbed to bursting shells at the Battle of the Somme

With pipe in hand
and elven words
he wove us golden strands,
of hobbits from the Middle-earth —
adventuring in lands
with bands of dwarves, and Ranger men,
evoking love of Shire —
of village life, on rolling hills,
with sounds of flute and lyre,
where puffs of smoke, from hearths of joy,
brought warm tales by the fire.

His words wrought tales
of simple life,
transformed when duty called,
to battle evils little known
with forces thin and sprawled.

This man did heed
the last words of
friend perished in the War,
who with his pen
foreseeing death,
in letter, did implore,
Tolkien to voice the dreams
that they had shared at School,
of ancient texts, and language lost,
of tales where wonder rules.