Poetry month, day 21
For Mythical Creatures at "imaginary garden with real toads"
Mistaken Identity
Enamoured I was, of his fiery breath,
the metallic clash of scales and claws
and those magnificent wings.
"No," said my friends, "he is reptile"
but I was blind to that point of view.
Perceiving no look of snake, I saw Dragon.
Only when finally alone with him,
I wondered why he chose, instead of sky
and glorious flight, that rock in the water.
He folded his wings and began to look like ...
could it be a lizard? Then he opened wide
a huge jaw. At last I discerned the crocodile.
Pity the zoologists, ever amending the bestiary to appropriate another aspect from myth and set it on the brow of reality. Beware the choppers of sea-dragons! I'm with you -- still mythic to me! Great response to the challenge!
ReplyDeleteWow! A cautionary tale!
ReplyDeleteSometimes we come across people who can seem unpredictable.. I wonder how that translates when it comes to matters of the heart and brain. Powerful response to the prompt, Rosemary!💜
ReplyDeleteHa, this sounds like some would-be dragons i have known.
ReplyDeleteOMG what a brilliant metaphor for the superficial
ReplyDeleteMuch🌼love
Very clever writing here. I like how the view point of the narrator shifts through the different types of animals observed in the lover. Viva la.
ReplyDeleteBeware the dragon, never better told than in your poem. I especially like your opening lines
ReplyDelete"Enamoured I was, of his fiery breath," That is how we get into trouble almost every time :-)
I have crossed paths with one two...great write .. you hit the prompt right on the sweet spot
ReplyDeleteOooooh, nice! What a surprise at the end.
ReplyDeleteThis was fun, Rosemary. I was wishing it would have been a dragon. Believe it or not, I belong to the World Dragon Day organization. On a lark I joined. It's not very active group.
ReplyDeletehttps://m.facebook.com/groups/617925391659630
..
Every reptile bears the mark of the dragon in the archaic parts of our minds.
ReplyDeleteIn the end you see the crocodile... all mouth and no ears.
ReplyDeletethis is a really fascinating portrait - a deception in the writing, in the best of ways - with just the right amount of myth and spirit guides and oh, of course, the failure to see even if the gut is right and we are heart blind -
ReplyDeletein totality - this is wonderful and astonishing - I really like this Rosemary, well done!