The Road Goes Ever On -- J R R Tolkien

(Poem #4) The Road Goes Ever On The Road goes ever on and on Down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, And I must follow, if I can, Pursuing it with eager feet, Until it joins some larger way Where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say. -- J R R Tolkien

from The Lord of the Rings, 1954.

While Tolkien needs no introduction, I feel that his poetry deserves a
wider audience than Middle Earth fan(atic)s. The poem above is surely
one of his best known, and IMHO one of his best.

In the book, it is referred to as the 'walking song', written by Bilbo
and quoted by Frodo. Two other verses can be found, one in the Hobbit
and one at the end of the LotR. There was a wonderful piece of prose
accompanying it, comparing the Road to a river, with every path a
tributary, and every doorstep a spring, which I'd love to have typed in,
but I don't have the book with me.

Martin.