It’s not often I write LotR poetry but this was inspired by my story Bound by Duty. For those of you who do not like the genre much, another ficlet in this series will be along soon. LBJ

My Anchor.    Lothíriel seeks to reassure Éomer after the birth of their son.

You are the anchor that holds me to this wild land.

Without you I would be cast adrift on a sea of waving grass;

Thrown upon the rocks that hold the rampant winds in check.

Our son, my love, is but a kedge that allows me to stem the furious tide.

Helpless, I will shield him from every violent storm,

As in my newness you protected a quivering queen

From those who sought to blow her from her course.

Do not doubt my faithful heart;

Fear it lies buried under swaddling bands.

Someday he will cut the warp that binds him to me,

Look upon another woman with demanding eyes.

Whilst you, my husband, are chained to me by links of iron.

Bonds forged by trust between kings and men,

But joined by love, which as a gull takes wing,

Soared high over stilted words, to ride the turbulent air.

And if we spot that one is rusting before its time,

Then every link shall be renewed,

So that I do not flounder in the raging sea of life.

LBJ