Robert McFadden, CSC, PhD: “The Road of Eowyn and Faramir” (poem

The Road of Eowyn and Faramir

Robert McFadden, CSC, Ph.D

I wrote this poem during my novitiate in Colorado at the start of the pandemic. My inspiration came in meditating on how, by seeing the love Christ in others, we can in turn see the face of God. I drew upon J.R.R. Tolkien’s characters Eowyn and Faramir as well as 1 John 3:1–3. I pray that this poem inspires others to see the face of God.

A shieldmaiden of Rohan A prince like Numenor of old Pass under the wings of the shadow, Where evil does not sleep, Where the great eye is ever watchful, Where there is no hope to be called children of God.

The prince ever lives nobly in the White Tower, Full of mercy and compassion, Bereft of brother, Unpitied by his father, Doomed to die, When darkness falls and all hope seems lost.

The shieldmaiden, only lovely on a cold and frosty night, Looks for love from a noble man. He cannot give her what she seeks. Ready to die by the sword, Her king vainly hopes to see her days renewed. What burdens this lack of hope brings to this daughter of God!

Into the road, the shieldmaiden and prince take their steps. They do not keep their feet. They find a friend and lover Least looked for In the House of Healing, Where they are to be freed.

Wounded by the dark, Without memory of the light, The shieldmaiden and prince take their rest under the warden’s eyes.

Bright in her white face, With clenched fists, Our Lady Chafes. She does not know the divine face-to-face. Restless hearts seem to be their fate.

Moved by pity, Faramir sees with clear sight, Not the shieldmaiden, But Eowyn: The White Lady of Rohan. Her eyes bespeak of a cold frost, Which is yet ready to yield to a lovely spring. Her loveliness and grief pierce his heart.

The doom of a seemingly inescapable darkness snares her heart. There is no window with which to look eastward, No window to discover true hope. “Stay with me, Lady Eowyn,” says Faramir. “Let us stay at the east window And look for the face of hope together.” Day by day, they walk together. With clasped hands, they grow daily in strength.

The cold winds of the north their hearts: Their fragile hope. Eowyn dawns a white cloak, The cloak of Findula, A memory of loveliness in far days and Faramir’s first grief, Eowyn now that pain and joy for our noble prince. Does the White Lady of Rohan understand her own heart?

Shivering from the frost in her heart, Embracing Faramir, her noble love, Eowyn dares to ask that dreadful question, “Is the darkness inescapable?”

Clasping her face, His eyes pierce hers: “Reason tells me that this is our doom. But my heart says nay! There is a joy and hope no reason can deny. You are a daughter of God, Whose heart of spring reveals that we shall be like him,

For we shall see him as he is. You have taught me what it means to live in hope!”

Stooping to kiss her brow, he whispers: “Eowyn, WHITE LADY OF ROHAN, I do not believe that any darkness will endure!”

Not the shieldmaiden, But the White Lady understands her heart. No more joy in death, Now a lover of things that grow and are not barren.

Winter turns to Spring. The sun rises in the east. The prince and White Lady kiss under the sunlit sky in the sight of many.

How does a moment last forever? Two hearts wander Until at last they turn to home afar: The City of God.

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