Faramir’s Choice
Faramir, Faramir, Noble and hard you are, Standing at the crossroads. Two paths before you, One choice decides your fate. If you only extend your hand, You can have all you desire. Your mentors will love you, Your friends will bring you gifts. You will become rich of gold, But that gold will be as a poison. When the flames grow, Blackening your skin, Your friends will curse you, Your loved ones leave you. For the ring brings strength, And the desire of it burns, But The Dark Lord is coming. He comes to rule over men, He comes to destroy peace. On this path of pain You will curse your day, When you were cradled, When you should have been smothered. In the end of all, This path holds pain. If you will with-hold your hand, And surrender to fate, Choosing the noble path; Your friends will abandon you, Your mentors will hate you. With your stomach empty, You will fight many long nights, Many times will you lose. You will die in pain, You will die alone. But in the end, You will stand among many, Hundreds of millions, All who chose as you did. In the end of all, You will join your forefathers, In halls of stone before the throne. Your wounds will be healed, Your sorrow forgotten, And you will have peace eternal. But on this path of pain, You will curse your day, When you were cradled, When you wish you had been smothered. This path holds pain, But in the end of all, Your pain will cease, You will be justly rewarded. Which will you choose, Which path will you walk, Faramir, oh Faramir. |
Years later, my father and I drove the ranch pickup deep into the Bolder Mountains. We didn't stop until after sunset. I laid my sleeping bag on the ground, and went to sleep. When I woke up in the morning I shook the snow off my sleeping bag, wrapped it up, and began to get ready. We were going elk hunting.
As we walked, my father taught me how to walk silently, pointing out those commonplace things that amazed my lowland eyes. I remember I even got lost on that trip, but even though I knew I was lost I was not afraid. As young as I was, I was already as comfortable in the back country as most are in the city. That journey left me with one memory in particular, which has haunted me for years. We stopped on a stone outcropping to eat and look for elk moving on the mountain opposite. Ever since I have looked for a similar vantage point, I found it's equal. While I was in the Boy Scouts, I backpacked halfway down the Grand Canyon, 104 miles in Philmont, New Mexico, 50 miles in Glacier, Montana, and hundreds of miles around town, and in parks. Every outing teaching me something new. I learned how to lead, how to camp, and the necessity of staying in shape. At Tomahawk I learned that disappearing was simply a matter of taking trails no-one else used. I spent weeks at camp evading whatever rules I could especially the requirement to attend chapel. I would skip meals, classes, and meetings; coming and going as I pleased. It was rebellious and childish behavior, but I simply called it freedom. I recently visited Montana, and there, for the first time, I saw what my father had spoke of; untouched land. A land which could never be completely tamed. A wilderness so rugged and so vast, deadly in it's own right, yet filled with a beauty beyond my greatest dreams. Since that first outing with my father, I have never been the same. It was a simple walk in the country, but the wonder I felt on that day grew into an obsession which has grown to define me. I desire, to the depths of my spirit, to stand where no man has, and see a view unlike any ever witnessed. I want to journey deep into the back country, where death meets adventure, and they intertwine to form this experience we call "The Wilderness." |