A Pantoum for Nimloth, by Kaylee Arafinwiel

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

B2MeM Challenge: There is so little about Nimloth in canon, and I'd love to know more - who is she and where did she come from, what did it feel like stepping into the footsteps of Melian as Queen of Doriath? I'd rather not read about the Kinslaying, and would prefer something set during her early life or reign in Doriath.

Format: Poem

Genre: Poetry?

Rating: PG

Warnings:

Characters: Galathil (brother of Celeborn), Nimloth (queen of Doriath), Amdir, OC

Pairings: Dior/Nimloth, Galathil/OC

Creators' Notes (optional): Aglarwen, Galathil's wife, is an OC of mine and Emma's. In our-verse, Amdir, later king of Lothlorien, is the younger brother of Nimloth and she is the firstborn child of Galathil and Aglarwen, but this poem insisted on making him the elder sibling, so I consider it AU to our main stories, lol.

Summary: A poem, in the form of a pantoum, spoken (or thought) by Galathil, her father (Celeborn’s younger brother) on Nimloth’s wedding day to Dior Eluchil, son of Beren and Lúthien.






Where did this child-Queen come from?
I look upon her with tender eyes,
And marvel that I fathered her.
My little white blossom, my jewel—


I look upon her with tender eyes,
And remember days long past,
My little white blossom, my jewel!
It seems but yesterday, even now.


When I remember days long past,
She was just a babe in my arms.
It seems but yesterday, even now,
That my Aglarwen birthed her.


She was just a babe in my arms,
Our Amdir standing by my side,
After Aglarwen birthed her,
Our heir met Nimloth first.


With Amdir standing by my side,
I greeted you, my daughter,
Amdir saw you first, Nimloth,
Ere the rest laid eyes upon you.


I welcomed you, my daughter,
Knowing you would one day be a bride.
Amdir felt deepest love for you,
Vowing to protect you with all his heart.


Knowing one day you would be a bride,
We watched and waited as you grew.
Amdir vowed to protect you with all his heart,
We knew he would never fail his promise.


We watched and waited as you grew,
But never would we have expected this joining!
Amdir never failed in his promise,
And now the Eluchil, your husband, will keep it.


Never did we expect this joining,
Bringing our line together with Uncle Elu.
The Eluchil, Dior, will keep Amdir’s promise.
May he defend you all the days of your life!


To join our line with Aran Thingol, Uncle Elu,
You followed the course of your heart.
May Dior defend you, as a husband ought!
Live in blessed happiness, daughter mine.


As you follow the course of your heart,
I marvel I, Galathil, fathered you.
May you live in happiness forever,
My Queen, my white blossom, my Nimloth.

Comments

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

I wish I had the patience and care to write poetry nowadays. I truly admire those who do. It is nice to catch a glimpse of these neglected characters.

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

Thank you so, Linda. I really appreciate that - the pantoum form does not have very much in the way of formal rules guiding it; the only rules are that the stanzas are four lines long, and that the second and fourth lines of each stanza become the first and third of the following one, though they don't have to be repeated exactly. The last stanza containing the first stanza's unrepeated lines, in reverse order, is generally accepted, but not a formal rule. I still find it very difficult to write, though, even though there's no standard length or rhythm. I think this is only my second Tolkien-related one.

[starbrow.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is so beautiful! I really get such a sense of how much her father loves and cares for her. (And how tragic the whole thing is, considering what happens).

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

Thank you Starbrow! Emma and I haven't really written much of anything focused on Nimloth before, but we have written Galathil, and I know from that, and his interactions with other young ellith in the family, how he'd feel about his own daughter, and her marriage. I feel like he both doesn't feel Dior is worthy of her (only in the sense that, you know, no one is ever good enough for one's baby girl) but he has to admit, marrying the heir to the throne is as good as it gets, lol! Dior may not be king yet, but he soon will be, and I can see Galathil's sister-in-law (Galadriel, of course) foretelling that Nimloth would be a Queen, so Galathil thinks of her as one. He may think that Elu and Melian would give over the throne to Dior, or that Dior and Nimloth would be granted a region of Doriath as a lesser kingdom - I sincerely doubt he expects what will happen soon enough to Elu. :(

Edit: Not to mention to most of Doriath's folk, including the young Queen herself, not long after that...*shudders*

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

You handled the form very nicely! I wrote a character bio about Nimloth. It was very hard to find anything about her. And yet she has an important part in the story. It's good to see someone give her a life and a history, whether slightly AU or not!

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

Thank you Oshun! I really appreciate your review :) I'd like to read your Nimloth bio!

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

It's one of my very shortest and I padded to make it as long as it is. I wrote it a while ago. Might be able to do better now. But here it is: Nimloth of Doriath (http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.org/reference/characterofthemonth/nimloth.php).

I will read more of your interpretation of her to see what you have done with her. Like filling an empty goblet. We know enough to know that there was someone there and her life was far from empty.

[engarian.livejournal.com]

What a fun form of poetry. It was like skipping rocks over water - glimmering, lovely.

- Erulisse (one L)

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

Oh nettenya! Your review was like poetry itself :) Thank you!

[dreamflower]

I love the structure of this--I've never tried a pantoum. It looks like a fun form to experiment.

I confess I am not as familiar with Nimloth as I should be--but I don't need to know the details to understand a father's hopes on his daughter's wedding day!

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

I hope to write more about Nimloth eventually! A pantoum doesn't have very many rules, but it's still surprisingly difficult. That's why when Emma realized I messed up our Amdir and Nimloth's birth order I was like...there's no way I can rewrite it now, though! LOL!

[zhie.livejournal.com]

Really enjoyed reading this earlier (was on a tablet and it wouldn't let me comment at the time), so I came back now to read it again. This was a great format to use for this, and nice to see something about some of the lesser discussed/written about characters

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

Thank you so, Zhie! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[zdenka]

This is a beautiful poem! The pantoum is a tricky form -- at least I've found it so -- but you've made the lines flow very naturally. And it's good to see some attention paid to Nimloth.

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

It's HORRIBLY tricky. This is only the third time I've ever attempted it, I think. It looks like it *should* be easy because there's so few set rules, but it's not, lol.

[ladyelleth.livejournal.com]

Oh, what a lovely and creative prompt fill! I have a soft spot for poetry anyway, so seeing Nimloth featured in this medium was a wonderful treat. I particularly adored that you brought up her mother as well. Thank you for buying this one from me. :)

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

Oh, you are very welcome! *hugs* Thank you for posting the prompt! <3

[elliska.livejournal.com]

This is a real tear-jerker given the ending we know is coming. I love to see poetry! Well done!

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

Yes, isn't it...:( Poor Nimloth and Dior, and their little ones...and everyone...

I'm glad you liked it!

[independence1776]

This is wonderful!

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

*Blushes* Thank you!