"Can you hear me singing?"

Shortly after we were married, we decided that it would be fun to read The Lord of the Rings trilogy together. Ben had read the trilogy before, but I'd never it, so he agreed to read it aloud to me. Through most of the trilogy, I had a hard time finding a character in LOTR with which I can identify, however, when we came to the passage about Tom Bombadil and Merry dol, it struck a little chord. Perhaps I identified with the love they shared, perhaps with Tom and the trees, perhaps I liked the water-lilies for Merry dol.... who knows. At Ben's suggestion, Tom's song is the inspiration for the title of our blog. Following is the whole poem. And, by the way, Ben read the entire trilogy to me, and we still enjoy reading aloud together.

Hey! Come merry dol! derry dol! My darling!
Light goes the weather-wind and the feathered starling.
Down along under Hill, shining in the sunlight,
Waiting on the doorstep for the cold starlight,
There my pretty lady is, River-woman's daughter,
Slender as the willow-wand, cleraer than the water.
Old Tom Bombadil water-lilies ringing
Comes hopping home again. Can you hear him singing?
Hey! Come merry dol! derry dol! and merry-o,
Goldberry, Goldberry, merry yello berry-o!
Poor old Willow-man, you tuck your roots away!
Tom's in a hurry now. Evening will follow day.
Tom's going home again water-lilies bringing.
Hey! Come derry dol! Can you hear me singing?