"A real taste for fairy-stories was wakened by philology on the threshold of manhood, and quickened to full life by war."

--JRR Tolkien, Tree and Leaf (1964), 'On Fairy-Stories'

The poems listed here are from various writings of Tolkien.  Although the majority can be found in The Hobbit or LotR, some come from The Tolkien Reader.  Of course, I do plan on adding more in the future.   Note that not all the poems in Tolkien's writings have names.  I have given names to those that were without so as to make a distinction of it.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M
N
| O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

The Wind Was on the Whithered Heath


The wind was on the withered heath,
but in the forrest stirred no leaf:
there shadows lay by night and day,
and dark things silent crept beneath.

The wind came down from mountains cold,
and like a tide it roared and rolled;
the branches groaned, the forest moaned,
and leaves were laid upon the mould.

The wind went on from West to East;
all movement in the forest ceased,
but shrill and harsh across the marsh
its whistling voices were released.

The grasses hissed, their tassels bent,
the reeds were rattling - on it went
o’er shaken pool under the heavens cool
where racing clouds were torn and rent.

It passed the lonely Mountain bare
and swept above the dragons lair:
there black and dark lay boulders stark
and flying smoke was in the air.

It left the world and took its flight
over the wide seas of the night.
The moon set sail upon the gale,
and stars were fanned to leaping light.


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