To The Moon-Lord, by Kaylee Arafinwiel

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

B2MeM Prompt: Full Moon (Purple)
Format: Poetry
Genre:Crossover
Rating: PG
Warnings: Silliness, but also sadness.
Characters: Tilion, Lena (Anne B. Walsh)
Pairings: Tilion/OC (unrequited)
Creator’s Notes (optional): Lena, who narrates this poem, is a character from “The Moon-Polishers”, a short piece written by my friend Anne B. Walsh and collected in her first “Week in Review”. (She's published many other things besides.) I’ve chosen to believe Lena is a Maia or other Ainu, likely of lesser power than Tilion. My poem is unrhymed and somewhat random, as my poems often are. I can rarely fit them to a deliberate structure (unless the structure itself is the prompt.)
Summary: My name is Lena, and my job is very important. I help to polish the Moon… Lena, one of the thousands of Tilion's helpers, reflects on her lord and especially the change in his transport (and her responsibilities) over the Ages. Set in our current Age.

“Wax on, wax off” is the phrase the Aftercomers use in this Age
It describes mindless work, all with a lesson behind it.
I help to polish Isil, bring him to the highest gloss
For you!

For you, my Lord Tilion, I do this
I, and my thousands of brothers and sisters.
We sweep away the dust, bringing this shining orb to full
The “waxing quarter”. I remember long Ages past
When this dusty rock was a mighty chariot, gleaming silver
Carrying the last flower of the Silver Tree.

But as the Firstborn diminished and were forgotten
So, have the Ages turned glory to mists of myth and memory.
Your chariot is no more, Kyeleperyon’s last flower is naught but legend.
And now we take care to shine this barren rock, even as long ago
We carefully polished the mithril-bright chariot you rode.

Now we must deliberately shirk – lest the Apanónar discover us.
For they trod in your realm, on this rock, and now, too, Isil is Marred.

All words are Quenya unless otherwise indicated.

Tilion - Maia of the Moon

Kyeleperyon - (Primitive Quendian)  Telperion, the Silver Tree (I felt Lena would be more comfortable with this older form)

Apanónar - Afterborn, Quenya name for mankind

Isil - The Sheen, name of the Moon

Comments

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

What a fascinating concept! I love the way in which you combined fact and myth here, incorporating different interpretations of the moon - and making them both true (at the same time, even)! Lena's thoughts that Isil is now Marred, too, were a little heartbreaking, while her dedication to her task (even now it has become thoroughly less beautiful) is very sweet. It makes sense that Tirion would have lots of helpers to clean the moon-surface after he got it burnt yet again... :)

As for the rhyming or structure, I don't think you need to worry about that. I read a German poem back in school which dealt with exactly this question, which in English would go something like this:

In days of old, in ancient time,
They thought a poem had to rhyme.

Today we know
that all a poem
needs is
random line breaks.

So there. ;)

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

Thank you Oloriel! And now you've piqued my curiosity: what does that poem look like in German? (I'm trying to learn German)

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Hah! I managed to google it and... it's actually rather different: Here you go! (http://www.lyrikwelt.de/gedichte/ritterg1.htm) (Let me know if you want me to translate/paraphrase!)

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, a translation would be appreciated :) thank you!

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

There was a time
when people thought
a poem
had to rhyme.

There was a time
when people thought
a poem
had to remain incomprehensible.

Today we know:
A poem is that which
breaks lines.

Not perfect, but as close to the original as I managed while still producing idiomatic English. :)

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

I like it a lot! :) Thank you!