Flower of the Trees [Translation]

A verse translation of JRR Tolkien's poem in Gothic, "Bagme Bloma". First appeared on The Bitter Scroll blog, October 27, 2005.

On glorious branches, glittering and

Pale green as she grows,

The birch tree bears her lovely leaves,

The flower of flowering trees,

Fair of hair and lithe of limb,

The mistress of the mountain.

The winds now call, soft winds are stirring,

She lowers her limbs in play.

Sleek and straight and white of bark,

She utters a trembling tongue.

Great mystery, bright token is she,

A blessing on my people.

The twilit sky obscured by clouds

Is bright again with lightning.

And standing strong and faithful while

Her lovely leaves take flight,

The birch will wait there, bare and white,

Still mistress of the mountain.

Reviews

[R.E. Ray]

Impressive piece, Eric. I'm left with a sense of strength, resilience and humility after reading this poem, perhaps the "tree's" most admirable traits. Vivid imagery, and an ideal metaphor subject to different interpretations. Nice work. I look forward to reading more of your poetry.

[Eric J. Kingsepp]

Thanks Robert. Most of the credit goes to Tolkien, who wrote the original. As a translation, I wanted this to capture the imagery of the original without losing its meter and alliteration as well.

[Kelly Scheppers]

You have such an artistic flair with your style of writing. I am thrilled to have come across this, this evening. It's deserving of so many more reviews! Good to meet you, Eric!

[Jade]

Really enjoyable read here, has a nice flow