Bilbo’s dream

and
in the dream
the hobbit wandered room
to room
looking for something
and not finding
it
and if a dream is working out by night
what
we can’t solve by day
then
what is it the hobbit wanted that
took a dream of blank spaces to find
well
to find what

or is a need expressed
to be on the move somehow
somewhere
maybe
to a lonely mountain
lonely
as his life
to look for something there

not so much treasure since
he’s well-to-do
but
the story of the treasure
then the quest
to find it
dealing with adventure on the way
and clear evil toward
the end

and to be done
everything rescued
deserving rescue
and
the halfling goes home
now out of
but having to tell
the story

won’t be as lonely anymore
with
mementos and
memories turned into
pages
and who knows what friendships
so to keep if neighbors go
on
thinking
he’s a strange one
anyone with Took then Tookishness
inside might disappear perhaps
a while

and now
he’s returned
Bilbo does disappear
or so
it seems from time to time and now
we hear of a big party in the making and
those with young imaginations
might recall
the wizard who arrived
before
and launched fireworks with
shapes both to fright
and
well
delight

everything dreamworthy now if with
some nightmares
added from the unanticipated parts
of stories
which
he might not have thought
of
even hearing at his own unexpected party
that dragons by day yet
terrify

note

then dreams of home might not
come across
so confusing now
since
he knows where he is
at last

or will Bilbo wander
time to time
through Bag End in waking dreams
still
looking as
any might look for something
and
not find it
yet

c l couch


The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (Chapter 4—and I’m writing from recall, since my copies of The Hobbit got mildewed; so where I might get text-details wrong, I’m sorry; where it’s interpretation, I cannot apologize except in the classic way of apologies, which is to explain)

photo by bypalm on Unsplash