Poem Response 12

Journey's End
J.R.R. Tolkien


In western lands beneath the Sun
The flowers may rise in Spring,
The trees may bud, the waters run,
The merry finches sing.
Or there maybe 'tis cloudless night,
And swaying branches bear
The Elven-stars as jewels white
Amid their branching hair.

Though here at journey's end I lie
In darkness buried deep,
Beyond all towers strong and high,
Beyond all mountains steep,
Above all shadows rides the Sun
And Stars for ever dwell:
I will not say the Day is done,
Nor bid the Stars farewell.

Found at: http://allpoetry.com/poem/8500005-Journeys_End-by-J_R_R_Tolkien


To me, it sounds like he died and is being buried. I could be completely wrong, but that's what it sounds like to me.

The thing that stands out to me about death, (or, one of the many things) is how appealingly poetic it can be. A final resting place, beneath the very stars you had spent your whole life resting beneath...
I've never liked the thought of a graveyard. Even that word, 'graveyard', is... a little creepy. I'd rather be buried in a place I loved while I was living. A place that felt like home… A place that, when people pass by, they can still see me sitting in my tree, or laying on the hillside, or… whatever it may be… I want to be forever resting in a place that is “mine”.

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The author's abstract descriptions made this poem a little difficult to read, (for me, anyway.) But I really love his wording, abstract as it may be. He just says things in a pretty way! I like that.
The rhyming scheme was great. I think poetry at its best is when it reads like it '"just so happens" to rhyme, so the rhyme is just helping with the flow and feel of the poem, rather than being the focus of it. I like that about this poem. He has a nice feel to it, because of the line length, choice of words, and the easy rhyming.