balrog's bane

Olorin cast the Balrog from the height;
the Dimrill dale resounded with the crash.
The thing of flames so poorly fit for flight
left just an impact crater strewn with ash.
Like Glorfindel, millennia before
when Turgon had to flee his eagles' nest,
This flashy sideshow to the larger war
would barely rate a footnote in the West.
Except that Gandalf'd left so much undone;
No elf could give the Age of Men its king.
It's he that orchestrated what was won,
although he didn't dare to grasp the Ring.
The heir of Elendil has come of age,
and carries on--again--without his mage.