Tuesday Morning at The Bird and Baby

Maybe it was the formation of smoke rings
hovering overhead
or the lions roar
of laughter from the far end of the room
or the sound of boots and
(was it?) goat hooves
across the worn wooden floor
I watched as the hooded men
and (could it be?) children
visited that room
And there were others in the shadows,
listening and watching for a glimpse
of finely worked brooches
or translucent pointed ears
of (maybe?) elves
or (what?) talking badgers
I crept a little closer
only to be brushed aside by
(what only could be described as)
a cloaked wizard or two
making their way into the collegial company
As the conversation and discourse flowed
with tea and pints
I looked for a place to hide
maybe I will just open this
wardrobe…..

**** love the works of JRRTolkien and CSLewis. Had the chance many years ago to visit the Marian E. Wade Center on the campus of Wheaton College in IL. There they have many works and artifacts from the lives of The Inklings, including the table from The Eagle and Child where these giants met each Tuesday morning and where the Lord of the Rings and Narnia were first read.