You Can't Hold On Forever by Ireth_Telrunya
The sea-breeze sighs along the shore
As birds call out above.
I hold her gently in my arms
Celebrían, my love.
“Im mela le, Celebrían,”
I whisper in her ear.
Her bright blue eyes are fixed on me
Her face is streaked with tears.
“You can’t hold on forever, love;
You have to let me go.”
Those are the words she sighs to me
The truth I’d fain not know.
She waves a kiss, one last farewell
As bitterly we weep
My heart shall hold her evermore
Her love and life to keep.
I turn and leave the Havens then
As storm clouds dim the skies.
The rain pours down as bitterly
As tears flow from my eyes.
“You can’t hold on forever, love;
You have to let me go.”
The cruel wind whispers mockingly
The truth I’d fain not know.
The hours of night tick slowly by
I lie in bed alone.
My heart refuses to accept
The fact that she is gone.
How bittersweet my reverie
As restlessly I dream.
My visions show the sorrows, that
Things are not all they seem.
“You can’t hold on forever, love;
You have to let me go.”
My dream-wife whispers tenderly
The truth I’d fain not know.
“Meleth,” I cry out pleadingly,
“How can I let you go?
We were together for so long –
Two thousand years or so.”
“I know,” she sighs, embracing me,
“But now I must depart.
You can release my body if
You hold me in your heart.
You can’t hold on forever, love;
You have to let me go.”
She sighs again, so sorrowfully
The truth I’d fain not know.
This dream recurs from night to night
Each time, the very same.
She pleads with me to let her go
As I cry out her name.
“Celebrían,” I call to her,
“Please don’t abandon me.”
“Elrond,” she murmurs with a kiss,
“In time, you too will see
You can’t hold on forever, love;
You have to let me go.”
“No!” I protest, abhorring it
The truth I’d fain not know.
“I cannot let you leave me now.
I cannot let you go.”
“You must,” she insists urgently.
“My time has come, you know.
You must release me, meleth nin.
It’s what is best for you.”
And every time I wake, I weep
For what I can’t undo.
“You can’t hold on forever, love;
You have to let me go…”
I whisper sadly to myself
The truth I’d fain not know.
Long years have passed, and since that day
I’ve come at last to know
That if you truly love someone
It’s best to let them go.
8 Comments
Hey found it….it is beautiful….such sorrow but he knows he must release her……Poor Elrond, it makes me so sad when he cries….*sob* Great stuff….
Beautiful. It’s hard to write a rhyme without being really cheesy sometimes, but you pulled it off wonderfully. I could really feel the emotion of what you were writing.
oh beautiful! I love the way you have the refrain running through the poem, but it’s a little different each time. It’s also really lovely to read something about Elrond and Celebrian – that relationship is so often neglected. You’ve captured the bitter-sweetness of it so well.
Wow. That was powerful, the ending really wrapped up the story well. Good job!!
There were some powerful lines in here, but I think it goes on a bit too long. A few of these stanzas could be cut . . . I think it would have more impact. But that’s just me. I thought this was pretty good, and yay for Elrond/Celebrian! They don’t get enough attention . . . what a tragic story.
Ireth, that was beautiful – so moving. ( How could any woman want to leave Elrond! I just don’t understand Celebrian! ) But this is one of the best storie/poems you’ve ever written.
I like this, though not as much as the Gil-galad one. The beginning is very nice, very thoughtful. It gets a bit redundant towards the end, but you may have done that on purpose… for emphasis, maybe. Anwyays, good writing, and keep it up.
This is one of the best poems I’ve ever read. Well done, I’m absolutely in love with it. I find myself coming back over and over to re-read it when I’m depressed, because it cheers me up. Such good imagery and flowing- you are a true poet!