Five Wizards Went Over the Sea by Dreamflower

[dreamflower]

Author: Dreamflower
Title: Five Wizards Went Over the Sea
Rating: G
Theme: Laugh! (Humorous Poetry)
Elements: mendacity/veracity
Author's Notes: Originally just one limerick about Saruman. It grew.
Summary: The story of the Istari in limerick form.
Word Count: 191

Five Wizards Went Over the Sea



Five wizards went over the Sea,
old men they did seem to be.
Sent off on a chore
to make Sauron no more,
but on how, they could never agree.

A wizard called Gandalf the Grey
wished to sit blowing smoke-rings all day.
But he was kept busy,
his thoughts in a tizzy:
Sauron's Ring gave him no time to play.

A wizard named Saruman the White
was known for his speech-making might.
But his lack of veracity
revealed his mendacity,
and so all his words lost their bite.

A wizard named Radagast the Brown
was sometimes thought to be just a clown
since he preferred solitude.
His feathered friends were multitude,
So he always knew what was going down.

Alatar and Pallando were Blue;
Not sad--'t was simply their hue.
Their fates were a mystery,
they vanished from history
And left behind not a clue.

Five wizards went over the Sea;
only one made it back, all agree.
He finished his task,
And now he can bask,
blowing smoke-rings by the Sea.

Comments

[shirebound]

Excellent! I love the last passage very much. And this is especially delightful:

Not sad--'t was simply their hue.
Their fates were a mystery,
they vanished from history
And left behind not a clue.

[dreamflower]

*grin* Thank you! The verse about the Blue Wizards was the hardest one to write!

[baranduin.livejournal.com]

Delightful! But now I'm wondering if Radagast might eventually have returned to the West.

[dreamflower]

I think he probably did eventually once he finished whatever Yavanna really sent him to do, though I've read some delightful fics in which he remains in Middle-earth. One has him living with the few remaining Elves in a hidden Imladris, and finding true love. Another has him as the Merlin of the Arthurian legends!

[drummerwench.livejournal.com]

Dreamflower, that is Fab! And limericks are not the easiest thing to write! I love it!

[dreamflower]

*grin* Thanks! The hardest one was the Blue Wizards!

[huinare.livejournal.com]

Ooh. =D Fun limerick. Love the last verse.

[dreamflower]

Thanks! That one occurred to me at the last minute! After all, didn't he deserve a chance to relax?

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed this.

[dreamflower]

*grin* Thanks!

[engarian.livejournal.com]

Love the last verse. The idea of Gandalf just leaning back blowing smoke rings on Tol Eressea is a lovely vision.

- Erulisse (one L)

[dreamflower]

:D That last verse was a last minute addition. It was all done and I was formatting it to post, when I realized it needed an ending--and I thought Gandalf deserved to get his wish!

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

Ah, then I wasn't the only one to turn to limericks! I love these, and the brief glimpses made of each of the Wizards in turn!

[dreamflower]

Originally I wanted to do something "Ogden Nash-y" with Saruman, but the words just seemed to lend themselves to limericks.

I really loved all the entries this month!

[marta-bee.livejournal.com]

Oh, that was cute! All the entries are such fun this time around. I love in particular that this is about the wizards, as so often they're so gloom-and-doom.

[dreamflower]

Thanks! I really enjoyed this month's challenge--every entry was a hoot!

Stories about the wizards often are so solemn--it was neat to take the funny road. And really, with prompts like mendacity/veracity, who could it be but Saruman, LOL!

[hhimring]

Very neat! And a lovely conclusion--I suppose back in Valinor Gandalf would need neither a pipe nor pipe-weed to make smoke-rings, but would probably use them anyway!
I like "all his words lost their bite". And also the Blue Wizards not being sad...

[dreamflower]

You're right--I'm sure he preferred to keep his pipe and pipe-weed.

My prompt words meant that Saruman's verse was the first and easiest one--the Blue Wizards were the hardest! (And I was stumped for a rhyme with "blue" until I thought of it's other meaning, LOL!)