The Choice of Arwen

Do not tell me not to do this -
for I know it is death if I do,
and I know it is death if I don't.
What choice is mine,
but death or death?
What could you save me from?

What choice is mine
but death or death?
Death if I choose you:
a mortal life
that passes like a breeze
and ends,
something fleeting
that must be grasped
before it's out of reach
forever.

What choice is mine,
but death or death?
Death to live without you,
death to watch you die,
slow, eternal death
to live forever apart from you,
throwing away the joy,
though fleeting,
I could have shared with you.

What choice is mine?
I'd rather share
a mortal life with you,
a fleeting blink in the depths of time,
than die forever
outside your embrace.

_____________________________________________________

[12. / 31. August 2014]

Inspired by watching The Lord of the Rings for the nth time - in particular the scene where Elrond warns Arwen about the consequences she will have to suffer if she decides to stay with Aragorn. Arwen never really had much of a choice, did she?

Picture by John William Waterhouse