By Donna Fergusen Dudley
Word Count: 292
Rating: G
Summary: The Tale of Smeagol/Gollum, Bilbo, and the Ring of Power
Years, nay, centuries had passed since on a fishing expedition
Sme’agol’s friend, De’agol, the One Ring of Power chanced to find.
In greed, Sme’agol then killed his friend and stole the ring, without
Contrition;
That innate greed had surely drawn the Ring’s own evil to his mind!
Fast driven from community of other Hobbits, he had gone
to dwell in dark ‘neath Misty Mountain, devouring fish, strange lonely
creature!
The Ring of Power had worked its way until his mind was not his own,
and as the decades passed away, the evil changed his handsome features.
A wizened, loathsome thing was Gollum, but with large Hobbit’s eyes,
alone to show what he had been before the Ring had made its claim;
Bright blue they shone from out a visage evil had quite compromised
from time so long ago, now passed, when he had claimed “Sme’agol” as name.
His thoughts were ever for that Ring; “Precious”, the one thing he
loved only.
Yet, tough he must have been, in truth, to survive those passing
centuries all!
To live so long ‘neath Evil’s sway in darkness, there alone, so lonely
until the day the Ring into the Hobbit Bilbo’s hands did fall!
Crazed, Gollum searched for Bilbo, murderous and anxious to destroy!
But Bilbo used his cunning, though the Ring did try to claim him;
It tried to turn his mind, but Goodness shone within that Hobbit boy
and his heart took pity on Gollum, the difference between them!
Though Gollum would have gladly killed and eaten him up for a meal,
Bilbo chose compassion’s path and cannily just slipped away;
That choice, mostly, freed Bilbo from the Ring, of Power’s evil will
while Gollum raged, but lived to try again some other day!