Poem analysis #2:

"So what the heck is a 'Mewlip'?" There's no mention of them anywhere else in The Literature except for this one poem. Hobbits of course are well aware of orcs, trolls, wrights & wraiths, and dragons, but 'Mewlips'? I suppose one must conclude that 'Mewlip' is a generic local Shire term for anything that goes "bump in the night"; a "Boogeyman" told to frighten Hobbit children into behaving themselves. (Or to discourage some not-so-young Hobbit thinking about going on an "Adventure.")

Artist's note:

I've decided to depict the Mewlip as a sort of "Gollum"-like creature. He certainly fits the description of one, and Bilbo probably might have thought as much. (That is, if this poem was "written" before his adventure. If not, he might have inspired it. It is clear that Bilbo didn't write it, as he signs his own work.)