Poetry & Verse

Parallel pen 3,8mm

Its just the opening but its still so great all on its own.

I adore this poem. Haydnpockets. Haydnflag. It slips beyond sense and into my body. In my body, it makes me feel light. Free.

"I Sit Beside the Fire and Think" was first published on July 29, 1954, in The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Publication History

Original Appearance: The poem appears in Book II, Chapter 3, titled "The Ring Goes South".

Context: It is sung softly by Bilbo Baggins in Rivendell on the evening before the Fellowship of the Ring departs on their quest.

Writing Date: While published in the 1950s, Tolkien likely wrote it between August 1940 and autumn 1941.

She arrived at the country mansion in a silver limousine.
She'd sent out invitations and everything:
her name written twice with "&" in the middle,
the calligraphy of coupling.
She strode down the aisle to "At Last" by Etta James,
faced the celebrant like a keen soldier reporting for duty,
her voice shaky yet sure. I do. I do.
"You may now kiss the mirror." Applause. Confetti.
Every single one of the hundred and forty guests
deemed the service "unimprovable."
Especially the vows. So "from the heart."
Her wedding gown was ivory; pointedly off-white,
"After all, we've shared a bed for thirty-two years,"
she quipped in her first speech,
"I'm hardly virginal if you know what I mean."
(No one knew what exactly she meant.)
Not a soul questioned their devotion.
You only had to look at them. Hand cupped in hand.
Smiling out of the same eyes. You could sense
their secret language, bone-deep, blended blood.
Toasts were frequent, tearful. One guest
eyed his wife—hovering harmlessly at the bar—and
imagined what his life might've been if
he'd responded, years ago, to that offer in his head:
"I'm the only one who will ever truly understand you.
Marry me, Derek. I love you. Marry me."
At the time, he hadn't taken his proposal seriously.
He recharged his champagne flute, watched
the newlywed cut her fie-tiered cake, both hands
on the knife. "Is it too late for us to try?" Derek whispered
to no one, as the bride glided herself onto the dance floor,
taking turns first to lead then follow.

This worksheet is from my daughter‘s honors 9th grade language arts class— it has a sonnet that purports to be one of Edna St. Vincent Millay’s sonnets— XLI, to be exact.

BUT.

1. looking up that exact sonnet number by her yields a totally different poem result.

2. looking up exact phrases from this sample gives me NO Google search results. none.

IS THIS A FAKE? Did someone (I’m not accusing her teacher just yet… maybe they got it from a colleague or website?) use AI to generate a Millay-sounding sonnet?!? Or something like that?

Anyone want to add their insights, 2¢, etc…. Do their own digging?!?

I looked up her sonnets XL, XLII, XLIII (her most famous one I think?), and XLIV, just to see if maybe they cited a wrong number. But I’ve found nothing.

I‘m a former HS English teacher and this is stressing me out. 😅

From the book If There is Something to Desire: One Hundred Poems

Translated from the Russian by Steven Seymour

Discovered via Poetry Is Not a Luxury

Not much but it was honest work. Tips appreciated!

published in her 1997 book, What the Living Do