(Written from the prompt “The door is round and open” from Rumi’s poem, The Breeze At Dawn, translated by Coleman Barks)

“The door is round and open”
So, a hobbit door
Bilbo’s door
Frodo’s door
To there and back again

Back again
Ah, as Will would – did – say/write
There’s the rub

To duck through that hobbit door
Into that rich, dense, dangerous world
Whether it be once, middle, or soon earth
To shoulder your heart’s pack
To tug your hopes’ cap onto your head
To wrap your memory cloak close
To step into your courage
And tie the laces tight
That is one thing
No small thing
A very big thing, in fact

But to find your way back again
After you’ve lost what was most precious
To find your way back
Duck through that round door
Into that small and too well known space
Without your precious
With only your wounds
To put pack, cap, cloak, boots away
In the very back of the storage cupboard
And settle satisfied
Into a once-favorite chair
In front of a once-familiar fire
To leave the road outside
Untrod
And still be content and grateful

That takes even more skill
More luck
More courage
More grace
Than the outward journey