Poetry and Art through the Ages (or There and Back Again?)

[Finduilas Faelivrin]

(I wrote this poem in 2004 for one of our crazy pubs in Minas Tirith. I've always liked Beregond and got to be him for a Special Rank. Just dug this out of my own archives on my computer. Feel free to add your own gems!)

A baritone voice resounds through the air
The White Company Captain appears to be there!
A Hobbit he sees, though now a bit older
And claps his hand onto Pippin Took’s shoulder.

Peregrin sees his old friend of the City
And smiles as the Captain belts out a ditty.
"My halfling friend, I’m happy to see
You’re in the White City and visiting me!"

”I’ll buy you a drink and even some food.
A little more bulk will do you some good.
Just eat as you please, I’m footing the bill.
Have a look at the menu and take what you will.”

Pip’s eyes lighted up at the thought of a meal
”And as much as I want? Hey what a deal!!
You say I can have whatever I wish?
Ok then, for starters I’ll get a BIG dish.”

”Some meatloaf, some bread and some cake and some cheese
A bowl of fried rabbit and hash, if you please.
Some oxtail soup and risotto and toffee.
And to wash it all down, a large pot of coffee….”

”Now hold on there, Pip, I’m only a human.
I cannot afford all the food you’re consumin’
Just look at me now, you’re making me pale.
Please sit down right here and I’ll get you an ale.”

While Beregond stands with his hands on his hips.,
Pip winks his eye, a wry grin on his lips.
”A Hobbit is always a prankster my friend.
Just one ale will do, and that is the end.”

A sigh of relief escapes from the man.
”To empty my pockets just wasn’t my plan.
So come along Pip, and we’ll have one last round.
Then we’ll see where Bergil, my son, can be found.”

[Burnt Toast]

Hahaha @Finduilas Faelivrin, what a brilliantly goofy piece. I was hoping this was the direction it was going when I started- and I actually do have to admit, I didn't suspect the wee twist on the end. Should have seen it coming, as a resident mischief maker. XD It's so good to see you around and helping dust off (er, re-awaken?) the Cottage again!
Was this from a contest in a pub / are there more where this came from? Or was it just a character randomly spouting poetry?

[Finduilas Faelivrin]

Aww, shucks, @Mor Toast ! This was probably written within one year of joining the Plaza. I think it was some silly pub, where we were using our SCRs (remember those - Special Character Ranks?). I loved getting to play Beregond and adored the parts in the book where he and Pippin had conversations. I found this in my files while digging around for images and old posts in my computer. My favorite poet is Robert Frost and I's love to emulate his style. I do appreciate your comments.

[Oro]

“Now hold on there, Pip, I’m only human. I cannot afford all the food you’re consumin”.

Bahahahaha That is great. I love that line. Hope all is well with you Findy!

[Finduilas Faelivrin]

@Oro , thank you for your kind comments. Yep, all's as well as it can be here at the Findy household in RL. It's really great to have our playground opened up again (Eru bless @Narv!) I've got a lot more art saved than poetry, so I may change this over to Art & Poetry (once I can think of something clever to name it). I'm still wrestling with imgbb, but will conquer it eventually. I can save things there, but it seems really clunky to find them again - I seem to find the saved pictures by accident every time after a few tries. I know I wrote more poems, perhaps in the MT Poetry Palace? I guess I didn't think they were good enough to save to the PC (ha - they probably weren't!).

[Finduilas Faelivrin]

When I was role-playing Findy working in the Apothecary, I found it difficult to find drawings of plants that weren't copyrighted, so I decided to start doing my own, usually with watercolor pencils. Here is the latest, which I'm poking in wherever they're appropriate. I was going to make an icon for Findy a while back, but never used it. More to come...

[Aerlinn]

I don't think I've properly said hello yet @Finduilas Faelivrin! It's good to see another familiar name in CoLP.

Your poem is hilarious and reminded me of a character (and his son!) I haven't thought about in ages! I'll be re-reading his bits when I get home. I wasn't around as far back as 2004, so I'm glad I had a chance to read it now!

I am generally clueless about both visual art and plants, but I love the small red flower in the upper left and the coloring on the spray of leaves in the bottom right. It looks like a prefect illustration for the Apothecary.

[Zôrzimril]

@Finduilas Faelivrin - I love the poem! It made me laugh. Nice job in particular rhyming "human" with "consumin'"!

I think I've seen your apothecary art around, even if only in passing while perusing RP threads in the past. I love the detail! It's amazing you could turn to your own skills as an artist to get exactly the imagery you needed. Hope to see more soon!

[Finduilas Faelivrin]

Thanks, @Aerlinn and @Tarawen! I need to go dig out that original picture I did for the above and remind myself of what's what in the pic. I have them all written on the back of the 10in x 10in watercolor page. That granite mortar & pestle are in my kitchen and I use them at least twice a week to grind spices for recipe. I got it in Scotland about 15 years ago. The pestle cracked in half a few years back so I superglued it. It gets hand-washed often with the dishes and still works fine! That's pretty good for all the banging it gets!

*later* Well, I went through all of the obvious places that picture might be (in with my old art stuff), but no luck. I did run across a few other things that I'll post later on once I get them uploaded to imgBB. I really appreciate your comments!

[Burnt Toast]

Hey again! Love the icon work-- I've always loved the look of pencil texture in drawings. The colors look gorgeous-- They really add texture to the plants you've drawn. I particularly like the purple framing around this piece.

I hope we'll get to see this icon in use in MT? :)

[Finduilas Faelivrin]

Oh yes, definitely @Mor Toast. I've used quite a few in the past. Here's one that I did 10 years ago. We had the Rowan tree that I cut this from in our front yard back when we lived in Scotland. My daughter had a friend at the time named Rowan, so I gave the original drawing to him for a birthday gift. He just sent me a photo of it yesterday. His words with the post are, "it will travel with me to the ends of the earth and the ends of my breath... x" I was quite touched by that.

[Thalionwen Hunigfolm]

Oh, @Finduilas Faelivrin, I *love* your botanical art! As a haelend in Rohan's Cavalry and an aspiring herbalist IRL, the mortar and pestle with the wreath of healing plants feels so familiar and comforting to me. And you've put so much enchanting detail into the rowan picture--the leaves, and the light on the berries. Beautiful work!

[Zôrzimril]

Findy, this is gorgeous! The detail and depth of the berries and the veins in each leaf . . . wow. And that is such a sweet story about the origins and continuing journey of the image!

[Burnt Toast]

This is beautiful. I particularly love the mix of reds in the berries that give them life. Also, how amazing to see what an impact your work had. There's no feeling like that.

[Eorlana Corvys]

@Finduilas Faelivrin
That Rowan piece is beautiful and so detailed. I'm sure it's even better in person.