A Woman of Far Harad

"He wondered what the man's name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of heart, or what lies or threats had led him on the long march from his home; and if he would not really rather have stayed there in peace."

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

We watched the legions march away to war
in lands a thousand leagues or more from home.
We did not know what they were fighting for

or whom they served upon a foreign shore.
Flesh of our flesh, bone slivered from our bones,
we watched the legions march away to war.

Who knew then what the future held in store?
Did we believe that death was worth renown?
We did not know. What they were fighting for

was held behind a masked and silent door.
We only knew the voice of wind on stone
while we watched legions march away to war

and not return. Defeat was the report
but death was every waiting mother’s moan.
We did not know what they were fighting for.

We watched the legions march away to war
with banners bright, never more to come
back from the bloody fields of Pelennor.
We did not know what they were fighting for.

Available! High-Voltage Lines, Knocking from Inside