back to Five Willows Literary Review main site

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Poem ----- Julie Dickson

Listen to the Dragon

Quiet, I said to the dragon after a while;
He kept speaking well beyond the moment
I had stopped listening.
He went on, as if he had more to say…
Was it important for me to hear his words?
I sighed and began to listen intently
to the wisdom he imparted patiently,
he, who was the designated scribe,
he, the chosen to chronicled the lore
of dragons, before and after the millennia,
when humans did not walk among them,
at the time when the realm was young.
If humans had not ventured across the great blue,
landing in wooden ships, building their castles,
how different our history might have been.
Previous to this, we lived by the dragon code
hunting, feeding ourselves and eventually
humans arrived and we watched our realm change.
I nodded as if he had spoken aloud, but
Suddenly looked down at his still form –
Tattooed upon my skin, his frozen gaze,
outstretched claws and wings, a warning?
Ah, so you do listen to my words after all –
perhaps there is hope.

Julie A. Dickson [Based on Ragethe: Chronicles of Dragon Lore - Trafford Publishing, 2006