All right, let's try to shed some more light into this darkness. From LotR Appendix B,
The Tale of Years :
Second Age 1200 Sauron endeavours to seduce the Eldar. Gil-galad refuses to treat with him, but the smiths of Eregion are won over. The Númenoreans beginn to make permanent havens.
+ 300 = 1500 The Elven-smiths instructed by Sauron reach the height of their skill. They begin the forging of the Rings of Power.
+ 90 = 1590 The Three Rings are completed in Eregion.
With that in mind, the person addressed at the beginning must be Sauron, handsome and comely in his disguise as Annatar Lord of Gifts, Lord of the Seven and the three times three = Nine, but not of the Three. He can beget no children, as Evil cannot create but only mar, but wasn't he something like the project manager in charge of turning Elves into Orcs for Morgoth way back when?[/vague memory], so Orcs could be his metaphorical children?
"Tall ships and tall kings" seems to refer to the Númenoreans building havens, as mentioned in the 1200 annal, and/or to the navy Tar-Minastir sent to aid Gil-galad.
Im still hazy about the "disease" mentioned twice, and "the gate into the day" etc. The latter is obviously a quotation, but from where and said by whom? And how does it all hang together?
(PS. - Pitchwife has a lot of great scenes all over the Second Chronicles. My favourite is when the First tells of her temptation by the Elohim, when one of them took the shape of an unstunted Pitchwife and she rejected him because he lacked her husband's heart and humour - awww!
But I suppose we shouldn't take discussion of Giantish matters too far on this thread, lest the skwerlz descend on us.
)