Since this poem is for Boromir, a Gondorian, I’ve put it in the Gondorian dialect of Sindarin. You’ll notice that it leans heavily of Quenya loanwords and uses slightly different mutations than other dialects of Sindarin.
Boromir’s Riddle
Original English by J. R. R. Tolkien
Cesto1 grist *rangen:2
Mi Imladris dortha;
Ar ennas le gornen,
Belt athan rhaich Morgul.
Ennas bacheg3 tanannen4
An amarth fer-dol lim,
Dagnir Ithildur echuia,5
ar i berian ephada.
Seek for the Sword that was broken:
In Imladris it dwells;
There shall be counsels taken
Stronger than Morgul-spells.
There shall be shown a token
That Doom is near at hand,
For Isildur’s Bane shall waken,
And the Halfling forth shall stand.
Reconstructions:
- 1. Cesta-
- To search for. Based on the Quenya word Cesta-.
- 2. Rag-
- To break. Based on the Quenya word Rac-. Its passive participle is rangen.
- 3. (m)bacheg
- Token, trinket. “item” – mbach and “little” -eg
- 4. Tana-
- To show, indicate, point out. Based on the Quenya word Tana- of the same meaning. Its passive participle is tanannen.
- 5. Echuia-
- To awaken. “out” – ed- and “live” cuia-, based on Sindarin word for “awakening” Echuil.