Beauty for All to See
A double drabble for Vistula’s birthday, with some inspiration from The Secret Garden. Faramir and Sam discuss poetry and gardening.

“What are you doing this early?” Faramir asked warmly.

“N-nothing, sir.” Samwise blushed.

Faramir silently raised his eyebrows.

“That is, I was just trying to write a poem… about elves and such. Seems a shame not to after this journey, and all. It’s not good though.”

“Your master and his kinsmen tell me you wrote a poem about a troll that was quite good.”

“That was just foolishness. Nothing, really.” Sam blushed even redder.

“Please, Sam, will you read it to us?” Frodo appeared suddenly.

Hesitantly, Sam did … and was mortified when Faramir read it aloud at a formal dinner, albeit anonymously.

“Sir, that was just a bit of nothing. It isn’t proper, it being read to all those people by one as fair spoken as yourself.”

“On the contrary, Sam, such beauty mustn’t be hidden. How would you feel if someone planted a beautiful garden, but built a high wall around it?”

“A garden is meant to be seen, sir, but a poem can just be whatever was in the author’s head.”

“And a garden is what was in a gardener’s heart. So what is the difference, may I ask?”

Faramir walked away, leaving Sam to ponder that.