The Lay of Strider - by Larner

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

B2MeM Challenge: A prompt from mybluerose asking how Aragorn earned the name "Strider" in Bree
Title: The Lay of Strider
Format: poem
Genre: humor
Rating: G
Warnings: N/A
Theme: B2MeM
Characters: Aragorn, the people of Bree, three thieves
Pairings: N/A
Creators' Notes (optional): I was moved to try a different rhyme scheme. Hope it doesn't annoy! Heh!
Summary: Perhaps, had he come to Bree another way he'd have earned a differnt name.



The Lay of Strider

I was a Ranger,
and to Bree was I newly come.
No one there knew where I was from.
Of my parts they could make no sum.

I was a cipher
to which no answer could be put.
I’d no horse, had come on foot.
Of evil Men was I in pursuit.

They did not like me.
To them I represented great danger.
No time had they for the stranger
who’d come to Bree as of a Ranger.

They sensed me a puzzle,
for I would answer not their questions.
They gave me conflicting directions
And most uncomfortable suggestions.

I found the Men I sought
in the bar room at the Pony.
One tossed o’erhead a single stone he
had stolen last night from Estelconi.

Ah, but they knew me,
knew they truly must distract me.
One threw a knife hoping t’would impact me
whilst the others merely sought to trap me.

They sought to flee me.
In the bar they sowed confusion,
and with a confederate’s collusion
they tried to fool me with illusion.

They slipped out of the inn,
and in a storage shed lay hidden.
But still I came on them unbidden;
’twas their bodies stink undid them!

One still thought to flee,
and like a coney he raced all through town!
But afoot I chased him, and he found
that in the end I still ran him down,

A young girl squealed with glee,
and said, “He’s caught them like a spider!
I’ve never seen such a strider!”
Had I ridden I now be “Rider”!

Comments

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

This was great fun! Spider and Rider indeed! Actually the prompt is Mybluerose's.It's a good one.

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the correction, Linda. Am embarrassed, but couldn't find where the prompt was, I fear. I enjoyed imagining how he might have been christened with that particular sobriquet, and playing with the odd rhyme scheme. Glad it gave you a smile!

[mybluerose1990.livejournal.com]

that was great! I would not have thought of writing a poem but am impressed. It cracked me up.

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

It was fun to write, too. Thanks for the prompt!

[dreamflower]

Lol! What a fun rhyme scheme!

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

For some reason the Willy Nelson/Merl Haggard song "The Highwayman" was in my mind, so I played with different variations and this was what came out. Thanks--glad I could give you a laugh!

[silver-trails.livejournal.com]

Very nice, and very fun!

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

And fun to write as well, particularly after the two more intense stories I wrote last. Thanks so!

[shirebound]

Delightful, and so clever!

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm so glad it pleases, Shirebound! Thanks!

[nancylea57.livejournal.com]

Ahh! The what is of life.
aside: Aragorn, you mustn't ride into the pub again, no horses allowed.

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

Yes, if only he'd come to town a different way, or had caught the ruffian by different means, perhaps a different way of addressing him! Thanks!

[mikononyte.livejournal.com]

Not much into poetry myself although I'll read it upon a time. But this! I admit to struggling through the mental rhymes, but there was no stopping the guffaw at the end. Well worth the poetic metre!

[zdenka]

I liked this poem. It made me smile. And it's a fine solution to the question of how he got his name!