Thursday, June 17, 2010

All that is Gold does not Glitter

You see the second line of that poem on bumper stickers fairly often around here:

All that is gold does not glitter
Not all those who wander are lost
The old that is strong does not wither
Deep roots are not touched by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken
A light from the shadows shall spring
Renewed shall be blade that was broken
The crownless again shall be king.


I've been known to quote it as "Not all those launder are washed." I wonder how many people can correctly identify the source of the quote? It's from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, of course (the book: I can't remember now if it featured in the movie). Bilbo wrote it about Aragorn, the King in exile.

Anyway...


All that is bent is not broken
Not all those who whittle can carve
Beware of the blade that is open
Beware of the dog that is starved.

A knife can be kept in a pocket
But the blade remains sharp to the touch
Like sticking a fork in a socket
The hand that is careless risks much.

--image courtesy of Magpie Tales
Collection available! Knocking from Inside

19 comments:

Robert Lloyd said...

The first 4 lines were wonderful and daring. Well written all the way through. Indeed the careless risk much.

brenda w said...

Tiel, I love Beware of the dog that is starved. A cautionary tale, and a wonderful Magpie!

Congratulations on your Ghazal at Poetic Asides! ~Brenda

Tess Kincaid said...

This one would be terrific set to music!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful, All that is Bent is not Broken...and it gets better with each line.....bkm

Unknown said...

Love it, especially

"Like sticking a fork in a socket
The hand that is careless risks much"

Gabriela Abalo said...

"All that is bent is not broken"

I love it!! great Magpie.

loveNlight
Gabi

Berowne said...

I'm a believer in both rhyme and meter. So congratulations!

Helen said...

Your Magpie caused an actual physical reaction ~ so vivid the images brought to mind. Wonderful writing!

RLM Cooper said...

This was quite good. I really enjoyed it.

Anonymous said...

an absolute joy to read..nice magpie

RA said...

Great job! "Beware of the dog that is starved" blew my mind... :)

Helena said...

That bobbed and flowed along wonderfully! Magic stuff!

Brian Miller said...

magnificent write...like the image of the fork in a lightsocket...had a friend who tried that and the wisdom in that last line. nice magpie!

Lyn said...

There is a ying/yang to everything..so good..thank you!

Tumblewords: said...

Greatly enjoyed this.

Kathe W. said...

very visual- loved it! Beware indeed!

cosmos cami said...

Great intro and a very well-written "parody" that could certainly stand on its own.

Aoife.Troxel said...

I read this aloud, and it's agreed...great job. Just brilliant; so funny, so true, and simply enjoyable!

susan m hinckley said...

I really enjoyed this one (both what you said and how you said it) . . . Well done!