I looked it up online and found this site, which says:

O! Wanderers in the shadowed land.
Despair not! For though dark they stand,
All woods there be must end at last,
And see the open sun go past:
The setting sun, the rising sun,
The day's end, or the days begun.
For east or west all woods must fail. . . [110]

Frodo does not end the poem known to the reader because of the ellipses at the end. The word "fails" lingers in the air bringing about the small likelihood of a successful outcome at the end of their adventure. Only after the adventures have passed and been recorded does Frodo finally finish the poem, leaving only the possibility of future adventures :

Still round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate;
And though I oft have passed them by,
A day will come at last when I
Shall take the hidden paths that run
West of the Moon, East of the Sun. [1005]



I can ask my LOTR-know-it-all friend Sarah about it when she gets back from class in half an hour-ish, if you want to know more... although I think her specialty is Elvish history and Dwarves, it's worth a shot :D

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Frodo does not end the poem known to the reader because of the ellipses at the end.

You're right, yeah, he doesn't finish it--the trees in the Old Forest don't like him singing. That must be what I was feeling, though I really though the site might have left a line out somewhere in the middle....

The word "fails" lingers in the air bringing about the small likelihood of a successful outcome at the end of their adventure. Only after the adventures have passed and been recorded does Frodo finally finish the poem, leaving only the possibility of future adventures :

Hmmm. I agree that it underlines the seriousness of the adventure, of the despair that the characters will encounter later, but if I recall correctly, that second poem is not a completetion of the "woods must fail" one, but Frodo's revision of another walking song:

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with weary feet,
Until it joins some larger way,
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

...but I'll have to check the books tonight and see if that's actually mentioned in the text (I think it might be).

Sarah's a Tolkien person? Yay! So am I, as must be clear by this post. :-) I've entirely lost track of the number of times I've read those books.

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Don't be cranky. Will it make you less cranky if I tell you that I'm working on the beta? How about if I tell you I've got you a copy of Pulitzer by Elizabeth Storm, if you still want it?

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Aw. It was just a cranky semi-depressive day. I'm feeling better now--and yes, it does rather help to know that the story didn't get lost in cyberspace on its way to you. :-) Take your time! I'm writing Numb3rs fluff in the meantime (starring Alan and Larry, so far, though I think I heard Charlie come in just now...).

Pulitzer! I haven't read it for years and the bookstores never have copies! And what splendid timing this is. My birthday is the 23rd. Do you have my snail addy?

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I apologize for not letting you know I'd got the fic--I was hibernating for most of last week and didn't check E-mail, and since I finally remembered to check, I've been absolutely swamped. I've only read it a couple of times to get a preliminary feel for it (and yes, I like it muchly, though I do have a few suggestions). But my schedule clears up on Saturday, so expect detailed comments Monday or Tuesday.

And yes, I copied down your snail addy when you posted it at Christmas. Actually the package has been addressed since the week after Christmas, but I procrastinated about sending it for so long that I started to wonder if you'd already gotten a copy. I'll send it to the post office next time somebody goes. :D

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I've only read it a couple of times to get a preliminary feel for it (and yes, I like it muchly, though I do have a few suggestions). But my schedule clears up on Saturday, so expect detailed comments Monday or Tuesday.

*marks mental calendar* If you don't get it done, that's okay. Just so you know. :-) It's actually kind of nice having that one out of my mental space for a while--Don's head, at that moment, was not a terribly pleasant place to be.

Glad you like it. I was nervous as all heck about this one, hence the long time it took getting sent to you.

And yes, I copied down your snail addy when you posted it at Christmas. Actually the package has been addressed since the week after Christmas, but I procrastinated about sending it for so long that I started to wonder if you'd already gotten a copy. I'll send it to the post office next time somebody goes. :D

:-D I am amused. And I feel loved, and pleased, and yay for Al-fic! *bounces in glee*

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Don's head, at that moment, was not a terribly pleasant place to be.

::nods:: I can see that. Take a few more days away from it then; some things came up that are really not as important as your fic, but more pressing, as in people standing around saying 'do this now!' Since you're not in a big hurry, I'm going to go ahead and get those out of my headspace so I can give the beta my full attention.

:-D I am amused. And I feel loved, and pleased, and yay for Al-fic! *bounces in glee*

Pretty much the reaction I was looking for, yay! :-D 'Twas sent first-class on Monday. Since I'm just up the coast from you, I'd expect you'll get it tomorrow or the next day.

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::nods:: I can see that. Take a few more days away from it then; some things came up that are really not as important as your fic, but more pressing, as in people standing around saying 'do this now!' Since you're not in a big hurry, I'm going to go ahead and get those out of my headspace so I can give the beta my full attention.

Go right ahead! As you can tell, I've got loads of other stuff to write. Also, I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of Pulitzer, so there will be reading going on as well. :-D

Thank you!

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