Loyal, Faithful by Himring  

Loyal, Faithful

We lived happily during the wars,

Eru forgive us.

Oh, we disapproved, most of the time, somewhat,

among ourselves; we protested occasionally

but too politely. And as opinions spread

like poison and became general,

they seeped into us, absorbed through the skin.

In every generation, our conviction eroded.

True, in every generation, there was one

who spent all their wealth buying slaves

and freeing them, or went missing in Middle-earth

because they could not bear to return,

or got arrested under false pretexts—

but history buried them, shame wiped their memory.

Most of us made no trouble,

maybe lay awake some nights, occasionally wept,

which helped precisely none of our victims.

Our manners remained impeccable,

our plates full. We profited.

May we be forgiven,

we lived happily during the wars,

while great Numenor flourished, rotting.

We were loyal, all too loyal,

until at last their attention was turned on us…