Lawrence Hall
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Dispatches for the Colonial Office

                                           A Tom Bombadil Day


                         “How bright your garden looks!”

                            -Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings, Book I


Tomato seedlings from the hardware store
Happy little things, six of ‘em to a pack
I sing to them as I drive them home
They seem amused: I am no Tom Bombadil!

I sing to them more nonsense songs
(If no sniffy old Lobelias are listening)
As I gently, gently transfer them
With a pat and a prayer into the earth

And I sing to them; you will understand
For you too have lived in the dear old Shire

He lifts a well-turned wrist
Above their dismal heads;
He sings a tune and in their midst
His song puts them to bed.
       And there he goes, a-laughing
Across the meadows clear,
Among the forests old,
He travels where and there and here
For years and years untold.
       And there he goes, a-laughing
Once he found a Lady,
In river-water clad;
Under boughs and willows shady
The best of lives they had.
       And there they go, a-laughing