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Poetry of Dragons

Joseph John Racano
Artwork (above): Joseph John Racano
Picture



Secret Beneath the Snow

The snow began to melt
A cave became exposed
I thought I heard the subtle cry
Of someone there enclosed

I brushed away the snow
Exploring through the drift
I used my frozen fingers to
Examine sort and sift

I heard the cry again
It sounded like a girl
I broke the ice away
And found another world

And chained there to the wall
A beauty fair and tall
Imagine how I felt it made
No sense to me at all

She cried, oh set me free
I pledge myself to thee
I’ve been here such a long long time
Before prehistory

I wanted to believe her
And what else could I do?
I knew I must relieve her so
I pried the chain in two

I put the prying shoe back on
Before the frost could bite
But as I knelt there on the floor
I saw the change of light

I looked back at the girl
My head began to swirl
Her skin had turned to dragon-scale
I tried to run to no avail

With but a single claw
She pulled me to her maw
Then taken with my innocence
She paused and uttered, “aw!”

She pulled me in instead
And made me a straw bed
She fed me cakes and dragon steaks
And good hot dragon’s bread

Until the melt was over
We lived and laughed as friend
But when the season turned back hard
I left to tend to my own backyard

And over that long winter time
I tried to tell those friends of mine
None of them believed it though
The secret lies beneath the snow

Joseph John Racano

Artwork by: Cara


Picture

Queen of the Dragoness

Shrouded from view by the veil of her jungle
Steamy contempt for the weak and the humble
Beautiful Dressa they call her by name
Queen of the Dragoness one and the same

Misshapen hominids kneel at her feet
Waving their fronds over smoldering peat
Burning the dragonspice, chanting her name
Guarded by monsters of DragonLord fame

Beautiful Dressa, heiress of dark
Low on her shoulder seen bearing the mark
Black opals woven in long braided tresses
Devilish angel in native grass dresses

Mounting black Anticorn, darker than pitch
Merciless dragonsteed bearing the witch
The witch they call Dressa, she born to the pillage
Showering fire down onto the village

Then to return by the jungles’ first light
For beautiful Dressa was born to the night
Now for her bath in the hot ruby springs
Queen of the Dragoness, daydream of kings

Joseph John Racano

©@JosephJohnRacano/1/7/2021

Artwork by: Clyde Caldwell

*Featuring Dressa, (the temptress created for and featured in ‘The Drunicorn’) and *DragonLord, (created for and featured in 'DragonLord of Time'), by Joseph John Racano


Quest for the Dragon Sapphire

Part I

The map was drawn in an ancient hand
In a time when monsters walked the land
Locked for an age in an underground vault
‘Till an earthquake cracked through the stone basalt

Found by a peasant in a bog of peat
Almost trampled ‘neath his shoeless feet
It began to crumble in the clear fresh air
And was sold to a merchant at the olde towne fair

Who himself turned a profit when the map was sold
To a man specializing in both gems and gold
With designs on recovery and acquisition
Thus began the Dragon Sapphire Expedition

Long rainy nights by the wax of candle
Holding to a magnifying glass by handle
Sleeping in the morning, tired head on desk
Map of Dragon Sapphire hidden in his vest

Part II

Finally it was time to lay a fortune down
Making rich the builder of ships in towne
Something that could navigate the roughest seas
I’m out to seize the Dragon Sapphire- hurry please!

Soon the builder laid a long and sturdy keel
Pausing but to sleep and for a decent meal
Giving me the time to set affairs in order
Just in case my final days were on that water

The wood was heated and bent for the beam
Treated with a mix of blood, sweat and steam
And upon the drydock a ship did arise
The majesty of which brought water to the eyes

I paid the man gold enow to fill his pail
Soon it would be time to thus embark, set sail
Made the last decisions, took on the provisions
Lastly to the parlor for tattooing incisions

Part III

Following the map, we crossed the darkest seas
Gale upon the sail, a never gentle breeze
Then a fateful evening came a sunset red
Entering the Harbor of the Gargoyle’s dread

Unbeknownst to many of the good ship’s crew
Sapphire turned the flame of all the lantern’s blue
Signifying this to be indeed the place
The Sapphire of the Dragon and a need for pace

Out upon the water deep enough for sharks
Two men in a skiff at midnight disembarks
Entering a portal where no mortals dare
Holding up a lantern flaming blue in the air

Once inside the grimace of the gargoyles grin
The maw began to close and they were now closed in
With no way out, it was a one-way trip
And no way to communicate with their good ship

Part IV

There upon the cavern wall as large as life
Fastened by the giant ring of Drago’s wife
Shouting to the eyeballs in a Prussian blue
Hung the Dragon Sapphire which spoke to the two

‘Whosoever passes through the gargoyle’s grin
Never may return to either land nor friend
All the gems you see are yours, and yours alone
But you are trapped forever in these walls of stone’

The men reached down and cradled giant scoops of blue
Knowing there was no one they could offer them to
Then the sailor offered up the ancient map
‘In return for freedom- and a ton of that’

Deep within the Sapphire came opposing views
Other colors giving in to vibrant blues
Several boulders loosened from the cavern wall
‘Leave without the map and don’t return at all’

epilogue

Through gargoyles grimace frightened sailors sped
Deciding they preferred a ruby’s red
Back on the ocean with a-hoisted sail
Half a ton of Sapphires, and a timeless tale

©@JosephJohnRacano/08/13/2020
Picture

T
he Three-Headed Dragon of Monster Island


The day had begun as had every most other
Fish were to catch and be shared with my brother
Winding the nets to be spread widely cast
Tying down bait that it goodly hold fast

Then came a scent wafting in on the breeze
Nothing familiar from deep in the seas
Or some passing vessel with garbage to spare
Befouling the ocean and tropical air

Standing onshore with my back to the sea
Felt chill on my back from the neck to the knee
Finished with tying the bait pieces down
Curious me I turned slowly around

Then I beheld a great lie from my eyes
Something so tall it was scraping the skies
Some crocodilian come dinosauria
Up to the clouds from the deep mines of Moria

I ran with my mind though I froze where I stood
Mayhap man’s payback for so much no good
Sent to mete justice from some cosmic source
A dragon of judgement without the white horse

I finally broke free from the chains of my fear
Prayed in my hut as the dragon drew near
When I emerged the next morning at dawn
The fishing was good and the monster was gone

Joseph John Racano
Https://www.facebook.com/reptilianscales
©@JosephJohnRacano/06/16/2020
Picture
Heart of the Dragon

None may know the dragon’s heart
Where her love and instinct part
Few are they who know her lair
Fewer still her lustful stare

But a fool would dare draw near
Those hot red coals and saurian sneer
Just to chance a sweeping skim
Across her silk reptilian skin

Perhaps the bones askew at side
Are mute remains of those who tried
A distant roar from high above
The echo of a dragon's love

Unimpressed by suits of armor
Slayed the knight and spared the farmer
Who fell down on his knees to pray
And lived to till another day

Joseph John Racano
Picture

R
apscallion’s Dragon

Part I

Shouldered high upon a stallion
I a widely known rapscallion
Fled a medieval pox
Stumbling hard upon a box

Unawares of innards hallow
Chose to leave the box lay fallow
Long it stayed a mystery
Contents unbeknownst to me

Seven riding moons had gone
I found a cave, the horse rode on
Moving in before last light
I slept inside that first good night

In the morning at the sun
I moved the box it weighed a ton
As day wore on and warmed all rocks
Something stirred inside that box

Clutching knife and eyeing sword
I drained the last drink from my gourd
Sliced the crisscrossed tying hemp
Fain to see what inside kempt

Lo behold my legs grew weak
As I beheld a parrot’s beak
Then bright scales and magic smoke
Thrice cursed the gods unholy joke

Out from the whicker box she scrambled
Round and round the cave she rambled
Left to die by some cruel mage
Scaly babe from another age

I the curious, she the curiosity
Showed not interest nor ferocity
Thus ignored I seasoned meat
She directly came to eat

Breathing fire, braised and cooked
Couldn’t help how cute she looked
On my lap she fell to slumber
Days and nights we kept no number

Part II

Winter packed his things and went
Warm wind entered through an old rock vent
Birds outside began to sing
Time to leave in early Spring

‘Dragon she-child how you’ve grown-
Now I leave you all alone’
She’d be fine – yes, fine and then some
Gorgeous as a prince’s ransom

Out I leapt into the sun
Stallion waiting wont to run
Crashing rock from near behind
‘I’ll come too if you don’t mind’

Said the dragon newly freed
Massive head above the steed
In the sun her scales shone bright
Iridescent in the light

Blues and greens and gold and pinks
Nowhere in her armor chinks
Giant reptiles, wondrous things
Now she spread her dragon wings

Off she flew then settled down
Outskirts at the edge of town
Knew enough to wait outside
Ate some cattle for the ride

Clean and clear of thorn and thistle
Called the dragon with a whistle
Off we galloped rode and flew
Far and wide the legend grew

Still at night ‘neath summer moons
Travelers watch for scale festoons
High above a big black stallion
Ridden by an old rapscallion

Joseph John Racano
©@JosephJohnRacano/02/29/2020
Picture

White Dragon

Plodding through rice fields while rounding a mountain
I stopped for a drink from a natural fountain
Sun blotted out as I filled up a flagon
I turned but to see a fantastic white dragon

Took all of the mount to conceal his white frame
Caught his attention and closer he came
Sixty-foot scales each encarvened with scrimshaw
Like Moby Dick perhaps even an in-law

Rain thundered down from his saurian jaws
Brighter than lightning his albino claws
Frozen in place I in fear stood my ground
With a woosh of his tail o’er my head he turned ‘round

On the end of a thousand-foot neck was his head
Set down beside me and filled me with dread
Mirrored my form with an eye like a cat
Buckled my knees I fell back there I sat

Sizing me up eye as big as a boulder
Gargantuan wink blew my hair off my shoulder
Exhaled a whirling tornado of fire
Lifted his head going higher and higher

Up on all fours the beast rounded the mountain
Soon disappeared left me there at the fountain
Back to my business I filled up my flagon
Vowing to never forget the white dragon

Joseph John Racano
Picture

When Dragons Fly

Once upon a murky mountain
In a cave with walls of soot
A young intrepid wanderer
Read that magic was afoot

Inside there was shelter
Outside raged a storm
But soon enough his sojourn took
A detour from the norm

The rocks below held much guano
Enough to fill a wagon
But there amidst did too exist
The droppings of a dragon!

Brave and young, he held his tongue
For one gasp might awaken
Whatever beast had made the dung
For all he knew, a Kraken!

His tiny campfire dying out
He heard a hooting owl
He searched for kindling all about
And then he heard a growl

Something deep inside the cave
Had woken up, was stirring
Perhaps attending to the brood
Of dragon-kitts heard purring

Our handsome hero of a long-lost time
Was here but for the shelter
He had no stomach for solving crime
Though clues lay helter-skelter

He was just a passing guest
And if dragon’s lair it be
The storm could rage whilst he did rest
All is fine, thought he

He then awoke to footsteps echo
And other-worldly chanting
Somewhere near the giant gecko
Clearly was now panting

‘Sleep ye dragon all the more
Your kitts will soon need feeding
A stranger sleeps inside your door
I feel his red heart beating’

At this the hero left the cave
Back out into the storm
Never stupid, only brave
And thankful to be warm

The weather broke quite soon thereafter
Scarlett turned the sky
Our hero did avert disaster
Now the dragons fly!

Joseph John Racano

Picture

It Came from Turkey Point

Betty Sue just loved the glide
Of an early-morning air-boat ride
The breeze was warm the air smelled fresh
The wind kept ‘skeeters off her flesh

The birds flew by, the water glistened
Now they stopped the boat and listened
The crickets sang as did large frogs
Who nested nearby in the bogs

But as they drifted through the plants
Their attention shifted to giant ants
Perhaps because they smoked a joint
Or was it nukes from Turkey Point?

Her mama warned her time and again:
‘That power plant is not yer friend
They’s stuff that grows that no one knows
You get too close, that be the end’

About this time a croc appeared
To her surprise, it had a beard
Behind that croc were two long tails
And claws with rainbow-colored nails

The second croc caused quite a shock
As it hauled itself up on a rock
With eyes of green and scales of white
It constituted quite a sight

Betty Sue had had enough
‘Let’s go home, the water’s rough’
And that’s when out behind a tree
Appeared gigantasaur croc three

His tongue was like an anaconda
Better suited for Wakanda
Displayed such teeth as you never saw
He spat radiation from his gaping maw

The airboat fan blade come propeller
Launched them away from the scaly feller
‘Pedal to the metal’ shouted Betty Sue
And Turkey Point nuke plant faded from view

And the moral of the story as it was told
Is, ‘Don’t go by there if you wanna grow old
The crocs grow large and it never gets cold
Now come help me scrape the radioactive mold’

Joseph John Racano

Dedicated to the radioactive crocodiles of Homestead, Florida
The Last Dragon

He stood astride a mountain pass
And pondered there on ages past
His roots stretched back to a dark antiquity
But none of a future could his emerald eyes see

With claws enow to tear asunder
Armies as he roared like thunder
E’en his unmatched skill in fight
Lay fawn before the lions’ might

The lion of time, the one great leveler
Long of tooth, and great tooth beveler
The dragon’s fang but half what it used to be
On empty nest no nestling calls to thee

Spread your wings like sails of leather
Fly up into storm and weather
Scaly limbs a tree trunk grips
With poison talons and razor tips

Belch your screetch out ‘cross the plain
Your saurian back awash in rain
But none to answer save cruel echo
Farewell the dragon, enter the gecko

One last war against the Gryphon
One last jewel-encrusted mission
What use diamonds baubles and the rest
When none but dragon can lift the chest

Scour land and search the sea
But there are no more left like me
What is life without a friend
Dragon line comes to an end

Haunting laughter fills the sky
Dragons don’t know how to cry
So he laughs and drops the chest
to a thousand fathoms

and a thousand-year rest

Joseph John Racano

Fingerdragon

I went on a hike in a very strange place
And lay down to rest with the sun on my face
But when I awoke I was staring at space
For the day was now gone without leaving a trace

And there in the darkest of skies in the night
A diamond was moving impossibly bright
I half closed my eyes and was blinded by light
Then opened them up to a beautiful sight

Somehow a gem of translucent steel blue
Gently had landed on top of my shoe
It crackled and hissed and spat misty red goo
And out popped a dragon with 'how do you do?'

Amazed as I was I bent down for a look
So tiny was he that my neck got a crook
And this was no fantasy drawn in a book
Both nostrils smoked and each claw had a hook

I never presumed that the dragon was mine
He wanted to join me and that was just fine
His scales were quite golden and fancy design
His kisses were many and tasted like brine

He cleaned out the attic of spiders and mice
Drew on the walls and made everything nice
No indoor fire as per my advice
Whatever I said he repeated it twice

Hey Dragon, said I; Dragon Dragon said he
Head out to the campfire and heat up the tea
Tonight we will fish and I'll show you the sea
Fish fish said the dragon as he followed me

After a while my friend had grown large
I barely restrained him from eating a barge
Which triggered complaints from a neighbor named Marge
She called the police and they sent in the sarge

'Your friend has to go' said the uniformed man
Please try to do it as fast as you can
He's trouncing on buildings, we don't have a plan'
Say your goodbyes and then tell him to scram'

And so it was done with a sniff and a tear
'I love you, dear Dragon but you can't stay here
I'll meet you tomorrow and buy you a beer
Move into Grand Canyon, and take all your gear'

My buddy was cheerful and wagged his barbed tail
Dragons are always that way without fail
No natural enemies, none on their trail
Compared to a dragon all others seem frail

The dragon and I recollected at length
We spoke of the good times, the fire and strength
He tossed me a geode and said 'there's the rent'
Sucked down a cold one and got up and went

Later I found out the geode had power
Centuries passed, that for me, were an hour
Remaining a seed when the others went flower
Allowed me to be there the next dragon shower

They found his Silurian skull on the beach
Four hundred million years sun worth of bleach
That was the lesson my dragon did teach
Space, time and stars are all well within reach!

Joseph John Racano
7/5/15

Picture
The Serpent's Pardon

Deep within the serpents eye
there dwells a deeper starry sky
and when he coils you can see
the model for our galaxy

Darting tongue, shedding skin
smooth as glass, toothy grin
Clad in scales, marked with art
Long thin chest that shields his heart

Dragons kin, beast of the garden
Blamed for sin- I beg your pardon

JR

Picture

H
ere the Dragons Be

There be scaly Dragons
Monsters with a demons roar
Unbeknownst lizurps
at the planets foundry core

And sirens with ethereal song
of such a pitch and beauty
as to conquer any sailor
doesn't pay a mind to duty

Monster Molas, Sunfish beaming
Mermaids singing, Dugongs dreaming
Manatees with human habits
Oarfish circling shipwrecked abbots

A vessel comes about as a Captain barks
Its crows nest shouts, and a bird disembarks
Be gone, ye dragons- now come a sign!
But the bird returns directly, no sign of land to find

Raging torrents, twelve foot seas
Wood ships list to great degrees
Check the star chart, pore the map
Starbuck, where's the dark rum at?

Then surfaces a dorsal fin,
bigger than a towne
Scales of gold, the smell of mold,
and droplets thundering down

Talons clutch the bridge with such
a force as ne'r before
A long, barbed tail whips the main sail
and breaks the cabins door

And soon thereafter all falls still
with no ship upon the sea
Beneath the stars float only scars
For here the Dragons be

Joseph John Racano
9/7/13
Picture

Temple of the Dragon

Step right in and you’re right on time
There aren’t many steps it’s an easy climb
Leave your baggage outside you have nothing to fear
Your prejudice and pride aren't welcomed here

The dragon on the left represents your soul
The serpent on the right, your ultimate goal
The dragons on the roof represent the façade
Worn by those who can’t accept that they are god

Every little finger and all your little toes
Carry information all the Universe knows
Every time you dream at night and every tear you cry
Linked to constellations in a far-flung sky

So enter at your pleasure it has always been your fate
The dragon’s here to welcome you and doesn’t mind the wait
Many the surprises awaiting you inside
The Eternal is your driver, the cosmos is your ride

Joseph John Racano
Picture

Dragonworld

Welcome to Dragonworld, nothing like Disney
Throw us a bone and we’ll eat your frisbee
We lie in fire, you prefer flannel
Don’t try to rid us by changing the channel

Welcome to Dragonworld’s serpentine fire
Slithering passion and scaly desire
Nowhere on Earth are places like this
Thunderstorms choke here, rain dies with a hiss

Dragonworld’s future is linked to before
Here be the dragons as told of in lore
Yes they will bite you and mayhap you’ll burn
Survivors stay hidden if quickly they learn

Welcome to Dragonworld land of the beasts
Littered with skeletal carcass of feast
Come run your fingers along my cruel flank
Smoothe to the touch in this land of the dank

Those a bit lucky may live to check out
Tell of your nightmare whilst you are about
Do not abscond with a one golden scale
Or find your bones cast amongst those who have failed

Off now begone to the land of the living
Dragonworld’s given ye all that it’s giving
Stay to the light and hard cling to the staire
Return at your peril be warned and beware

Joseph John Racano

https://www.facebook.com/reptilianscales/

©@JosephJohnRacano/06/04/2020
Picture

Dragon Posse’

An agent from the West arrived with crossbow in a wagon
“She’ll kill most any pest alive, and that’s no idle braggin”
I looked up at the stranger as the last toe I was taggin’
I said, “I sure do hope you’re right, ‘cause this time it's a dragon”

The rest arrived first one then two
Soon we had the whole dang crew
A compound bow, a gun, a sword
Hotel check in, room and board

Sometime in the night we heard a cry up in the hills
Not a hound unearthly sound enough to give me chills
Sun-up couldn’t come too soon to push away that blood-red moon
Rolled my sleeping bag cocoon and stirred black coffee with a spoon

Morning paper showed a fire, some prospector’s funeral pyre
Acted brave but I’m a liar, stopped at church and heard the choir
Mule team made the hills at dawn packed the horses then rode on
Found that fire smokey damp, rain came down and we pitched camp

Sat in quiet that first night, starry sky was quite a sight
Someone played an old guitar, all wished we was back at bar
Felt the ground beneath us rumble, then the rocks began to tumble
Somewhere high up on that hill, dragon looked down on his kill

Archer lit a flaming arrow, fast and true, a deadly sparrow
Climbed straight up the mountain’s flank, dragon’s armor just went ‘clank!’
Then came fire raining down, burned us halfway back to town
High above, a barbed tail waggin’- that's the last we hunted dragon!

Joseph John Racano

Another installment of the 'Poetry of Dragons' collection
https://www.josephjohnracano.com
©@JosephJohnRacano/05/29/2020
Dragon King

Awaken yon dragon, awake from thine egg
Finish the yolk with a bit of nutmeg
Keep your mouth shuttered, I don’t want to burn
You don’t know your power there’s much you must learn

Stand still and silent, your scales need a clean
Polish bring out their magnificent sheen
Patience yon dragon, so curious, yes
Watch lest thou sharpest of claws ruin my dress

Time now to forage and learn the outdoors
Fear not the sun there’s a mist on the moors
See there yon mountains the land of your birth
Play as a babe for too soon ends thine mirth

Zounds dear good dragon there buds do I see
Sprouting from shoulders, great wings they shall be!
Launching your strafing attacks from above
Iron age armies show dragons no love

See how the seasons too quickly come hither
Flowers of Spring meet the Winter and wither
These are the years spent together in bliss
Now my dear giant it comes down to this

Here on the road to Valhalla I leave you
Many the days of my life I shall grieve you
You can trust no one, let none near to greet you
Stay to the skies and no army can beat you

Joseph John Racano
Picture

Dragonparts

When the dustbowl claimed the whole great plains
It was used to store old parts and chains
It covered an area a million square miles
Rusty rims in forty-story piles

I was out there painting on my oxidized easel
When a clanking started up and it smelled like diesel
So I dropped my brush in the old red piston
Stood up tall and took a good long listen

And up from a pile of shopping carts
Rose a reptile made of industrial parts
Taller than a smokestack, longer than a bridge
Every tooth in his mouth used to be somebody’s fridge

I painted without moving too afraid to flex a muscle
Capturing his essence every rivet and corpuscle
When I finished touching up his metal chambered hearts
Signed it at the bottom and I named it Dragonparts

Joseph John Racano

©@JosephJohnRacano/4/18/2021
Art: RohiTSehrawaT
Picture

Guardian of the Book of Spells

Borne from a crystal and weaned by a mage
Last known blue guardian of the written page
Pinnacle of knowledge and Wyvern of hearts
Raised to protect and well versed in dark arts

Organic computer, each file a blue scale
Stores a great magic in barb of her tail
Don’t underestimate else thee shall join
Minions of vanquished now barbeque loin

Only for sorcerer mage does she yield
Others lie charcoal ‘neath hole burnt in shield
She with full knowledge of every black spell
Dwells in the netherworlde just beyond hell

Guardian Wyvern shoots blood from her eyes
Catching off guard those unwary, unwise
Stashing their bones in a magic rune nook
None may abscond with the Guardian’s book!


Joseph John Racano

©@JosephJohnRacano/3/19/2021

Art: TSabo6
Picture

The Dragon Keetor

Left him for dead but the wizard arose
Staff crooked bent and but rags were his clothes
He tumbled the rocks left atop of his grave
Now it was they who need run and be saved

He toward the fire ran back to the fray
No good use dying and wasting away
Hell raged around him as ne’er before
Time now to summon the Dragon Keetor

Left, were great legions of carnage and spoil
Right, slanted bastions and tumbling hot oil
Soldiers in armor fought dragons-to-be
The largest among them but up to one's knee

Down from the ramparts sharp arrows did rain
Those without fire held poisons and pain
Porcupine shields wore half-arrows and pits
Burnt at the edges by hot dragon spits

The hordes of Arallu closed in from both sides
Writhing humanity, horizonless tides
When raggedy sorcerer gave death a detour
Speaking the magic words summoning Keetor

Thus in an instant the land turned to plasma
Shriveling all lungs that inhaled the miasma
And so it happened, the legend lives on
Of The Great Dragon Keetor and sorcerer’s wand

Joseph John Racano
©@JosephJohnRacano/1/30/2021
Picture

Wyvern and the Obelisk

Here upon the cold mount cavern
Doth I seek the dreaded Wyvern
Scales reptilian breath vermillion
Hell spawn worshipped in dark Cillian

Come straight forth, ye pose no risk
For I do hold the obelisk
Set with stone alloyed with bone
Sparkling off thine scales of roan

Fetid growl from unplumbed depths
Let obelisk subdue your threats
For all who hold this magic staff
At swept back ivory teeth can laugh

So now great Wyvern do my bidding
Thine own will shalt thou be ridding
Unfurl thy wings attack the regal
Set upon as Harpy Eagle

Clutch with talons jeweled chest
Bring all riches to my nest
Bow thine great head at my staff
Then make feast upon a calf

Giant monster from the cave
Conquer, make all men a slave
Thus return when deed is done
And I shall love ye as my son

Joseph John Racano

©@JosephJohnRacano/1/29/2021

Artwork: 'Dragon's Wrath' by Mathew Dobrich
Picture

Riders of the Red Dragon

Now the horizon brings colorful news
Dragons returning in reds and in blues
Waving like ribbons and shaped like big eels
One can but wonder how riding them feels

Long to the dangerous quest they have been
Spiriting riders to battle dark sin
Avarice hunters with specialized skills
Some wearing scales representing their kills

Here they return to the bosom of Earth
Entering worm holes designed for their girth
Welcomed by sentries who stand at the doors
And watch them approach through the fog off the moors

With ruby-red scales and a leather divider
And no clear distinction ‘tween serpent and rider
Only the sage may lay hand on the lever
Red dragons are precious, our enemies clever

Throngs wave their sparklers in townships below
Cheering the dragons and magical show
Serpents and riders plunge into the clay
Sages use incense to show them the way

Exit the serpentine thousand foot lords
Monks in their long flowing robes quell the hordes
Into their burrows the dragons lay wait
Till next they must counter the forces of hate

Joseph John Racano

©@JosephJohnRacano/1/21/2021

Art: TCKTCK Xiancia
Picture

The Flying White Dragons

Hold fast to your tether on Two-mile bridge
These aren’t the dragons you stick on your fridge
Be silent and swallow your anticipation
Of flying white dragons in massive migration

Shoulder to shoulder we span the great valley
Waiting for dawns great reptilian rally
Sharing attentions ‘tween dragons of snow
And uncertain destiny miles below

Then as first light pokes its head in the air
Thousands of dragons appear with a flair
Offering peasants a sight fit for kings
Dragon-borne arrows on white flaming wings

They criss-cross a sky water-colored in hue
Vapors cascading bright contrails of blue
Over our heads fly the giant behemoths
Swaying the bridge as they zoom underneath us

Off in the distance tall pointed gray spires
Offer the eye everything it desires
As once and again from the deep valley floor
White dragons ascend with a guttural roar

Those on the bridge watch this awesome migration
Having a care to avoid conflagration
Then it is over as soon as begun
Dragons recede and wings glint in the sun

Joseph John Racano

©@JosephJohnRacano/1/18/2021

Art: Deiv Calviz
Picture

The Dragons Among Us

Living close among us
Do secretly they thrive
Clandestine in the shadows
Gathered in the hive

Invisible among the norm
Betwixt the light of day
The dragons and their sequined form
Have never gone away

Who could know a mere stones throw
A park where children play
Doth conceal leviathan
In guiltless light of day

Hiding nearby in plain sight
These broad reptilian wings
Come to life by dead of night
To hunt for living things

These scaly keepers of the flame
Account for some gone missing
Vanished ladies of the night
Who are no longer kissing

The empty bunk of a clumsy drunk
Who staggered from the bar
High above came rustling wings
He did not make it far

A wife so left gone mad bereft
When husband fled the marriage
She never knew the man was true
But skyjacked from a carriage

The morning paper’s headlines ask
WHEREFORE MISTER BROWN?
The answer may be close at hand
There’s a Dragon Park in town!

Joseph John Racano
©@Joseph John Racano/1/10/2021
Photograph: Rodezveta Zelyaskova
Picture

Queen of the Dragoness

Shrouded from view by the veil of her jungle
Steamy contempt for the weak and the humble
Beautiful Dressa they call her by name
Queen of the Dragoness one and the same

Misshapen hominids kneel at her feet
Waving their fronds over smoldering peat
Burning the dragonspice, chanting her name
Guarded by monsters of DragonLord fame

Beautiful Dressa, heiress of dark
Low on her shoulder seen bearing the mark
Black opals woven in long braided tresses
Devilish angel in native grass dresses

Mounting black Anticorn, darker than pitch
Merciless dragonsteed bearing the witch
The witch they call Dressa, she born to the pillage
Showering fire down onto the village

Then to return by the jungles’ first light
For beautiful Dressa was born to the night
Now for her bath in the hot ruby springs
Queen of the Dragoness, daydream of kings

Joseph John Racano
©@JosephJohnRacano/1/7/2021
Artwork by: Clyde Caldwell
*Featuring Dressa, the temptress created for and featured in ‘The Drunicorn’ and *DragonLord, created for and featured in 'DragonLord of Time', all by Joseph John Racano
Picture

Ride of the Dragonsteed

Then came the ride of the Dragonsteed
‘Neath inky clouds a brand new breed
Sunset fire in his eyes
Half reflecting plasmic skies

Bursted forth from hell knows where
Ruby crimson swept back hair
Gnashing square-toothed equine jowl
Sneering back at demons foul

Face the danger in his gait
Or fast begone ye shall not wait
High above the ravens flight
Guiding Dragonsteed this night

Archetypus eohippus
Name is only spoke in whispers
Galloping where dragons dare
A word to others- be thee ware

Joseph John Racano
©@JosephJohnRacano/12/10/2020

Artwork by: Dragoness17
Picture

Dragon in the Mist

At quest upon a mountainside
I fell prey to a dream
In which the birds fell silent
And the air began to scream

An Autumn chill was in the wind
It rolled into a fist
And just before it struck I saw
A Dragon in the Mist

My left hand dropped the firewood
A sword was in my right
But a wanderer like me could be
No match for dragon’s might

The winds of Fall were cruel
And kept on biting at my cheeks
I was much too slight to be
The prey such a dragon seeks

I stood still as an icicle
Atop the frozen rock
Within the dragon’s eyes I saw
The image of a clock

Perhaps a sign of passing time
Or that my time was up
I tried to scream and end this dream
But my mouth was frozen shut

Gargantuan segmented worm
Do teach as I am here to learn
Your bellow shakes the very floor
And I so thin ramshackle poor

And just like that he spread his wings
Cast frightful gaze on other things
And on the frozen ground I kissed
Be gone ye Dragon in the Mist!

Joseph John Racano
©@JosephJohnRacano/11/26/2020

Artwork by: AnatoFinnstark
Picture
Amberdragon

In a far-away land where the black shadows cower
A reptile arose from a meteor shower
Too large for a lizard but more dinosaurian
Found as a dragon-child by a historian

Led to a cavern of comforting hay
Offered a fatted young calf each the day
Raised as diviner by method of harkness
Schooled in the little-known ways of the darkness

Soon was outgrown any need for protection
Brought to the river to see his reflection
Then whereupon this child seeing his teacher
Devoured him whole did this yellow-eyed creature

Bent down his head to the water to drink
Quite fascinated to watch himself blink
Soon realizing the might he possessed
Decided a look from above would be best

Spreading his wings he flew into the sky
Seeking a land where his craft he might ply
He spent a few centuries burning and rending
Then he grew up with his childhood ending

Now a full dragon he claimed dragon’s rights
Every king suffered the dread of his bites
Until such a day as was written in poem
His mother arrived and escorted him home

Joseph John Racano
©@JosephJohnRacano/1/1/2021
Picture

Dragon Book of Spells


‘Thorn of a rose, eye of a toad
Second hand chewing gum squashed in the road
Foot of a rabbit, claw of a bear
Finish line ribbon from the tortoise and the hare’

“Amazing Father Dragon! Is every single thing
needed to return a kingdom back to rightful king?’
‘That, my dear,’ the Dragon said, ‘is some of what’s required-
Now stir it ‘round completely ‘till the timer has expired’

With her youthful energy she stirred it round and dutifully
Wearing garb of necromancer and doing so quite beautifully
But that so far was but a portion needed for the spell
Father Dragon did read on when all had been stirred well:

'Feather of a vulture, whisker of a rhino
Sprinkles from a mammoth tusk, a fossil from a dino

Blood tooth of a vampire bat, brow of a gazelle
Something plucked from Mordor and a front doorknob from hell

Scale of ‘ouch!’ a dragon and the collar from a goat
Splinter from a drawbridge and a tadpole from the moat

Teardrop of a virgin and the curled hair of a mole
Caviar from Sturgeon and a flake from club of troll’

‘These are the ingredients, our recipe complete
Warm it in the cauldron to a broth that’s fair to eat
Send a note by pigeon, for the king must soon be told:

His potion’s ready and so are we for six wagons filled with gold’

Joseph John Racano
Poetry of Dragons
©@JosephJohnRacano/09/24/2020

Artwork by: CLstudio
Picture

Hallow the Dragon


Deep within winding Franciscan formations
Gallant he treks on behalf of all nations
Whilst char conflagrations lay waste to above
His armor may tarnish but never his love

The object of which runs a comb through her hair
Like golden perfume indescribably fair
Though set to inherit a world that yet burns
‘Tis only for he that her beating heart yearns

And he far below holding only a sword
Soon to confront mighty dragon and lord
Whose scales to a drawbridge are easily rival
Not even Zeus could ensure his survival

Now to his chamber an open cathedral
Product of eons and earthquake upheaval
There stood who might be the world’s bravest man
Shield at the ready and sword in his hand

Spreading before him a body of water
His fair reflection a lamb to the slaughter
Ten yards away subterranean hell
Tall as a fir tree red eyes cast their spell

The dragon was lizard-like craning its’ neck
Feet of a crow covered mountains of drek
Cavernous maw was a trap to be sprung
With a fifty-foot long darting pythoness tongue

‘Hold!’ spake the dragon, ‘what business, who dares?
Have you in order all worldly affairs?
Come a bit closer, what have you, a sword?
Armed with a toothpick and acting untoward’

The dragon was loud, every word was a bellow
Sizing up this small but curious fellow
To his surprise the young knight took a step
Drew himself up just as high as could get

‘I come representing associate nations
Currently burning from great conflagrations’
The dragon looked down, the knight looked in his eye
‘Before I wield sword may I just ask you why?’

‘S-s-s-seems to me you are of courage and heart
This is a battle that I did not start
Men came attacking our fledglings with arrows
Shooting us out of the sky as though sparrows’

‘Tell me brave knight what would you have us do?
Roll on our backs and surrender to you?

Look at us now, I’m 400 feet tall
If I should burn you, you’ve no chance at all’

The knight raised his sword in non-threatening manner
Then he invoked the god Thor and his hammer
‘From this day forward I give you my word
Free from our arrows you shall fly like a bird’

epilogue
The young man returned to his nation and bride
Unto the peace did both parties abide
Never again straying far from the path
The dragons were safe as were men from their wrath

Joseph John Racano

©@JosephJohnRacano/09/20/2020

Artwork by: Peschera
Picture

A
waken Good King

By the beard of Odin and a sorcerers breath
Good King do awaken for I fear death
O’er castle of granite has a shadow taken hold
I know not its cast but it’s pungent and old

‘Begone meager peasant, I sleep until noon
Accost me at peril of dungeon’s gray gloom
Perhaps ‘tis a shadow and nothing the more
Begone and be quiet or die on the floor!’

Awaken Good King for I do fear thine wrath
But greater by far is this foul demon’s path
Perhaps the old leper you smote in the village
Was Merlin the sorcerer now come to pillage

‘Silence thine tongue, whilst thou standest there quaking
Go find out why the whole castle is baking
Ready the catapults, load and start hurling
Bring me the head of the sorcerer Merlin!’

Awaken Good King I come bearing good news
There is still time to run, let me hand you your shoes
The old granite castle is soon to be smitten
Those in the ramparts in half have been bitten

Grant us in all of your mercy and wisdom
Royal permission to flee yon doomed kingdom
Outside the horses and carriage sit ready
Away pointing East to a ship at the jetty

‘Guards, take this cowardly peasant away
I fought for this kingdom and here I shall stay
And what is the use in our running away
Be Merlin-spawn Dragon so fierce as they say?’

‘Call in the Queen let us dwell in her mercy
Enter my love let me bow to thine curtsey
Hot baking granite now falls on our home
Stay by my side let us die on the throne’

epilogue
So filthy the leper and lowly is he
His red flashing eyes only wise men can see
A beggar who shakes his tin cup to your wagon
Show him respect for he might be a dragon

Joseph John Racano

©@JosephJohnRacano/09/18/2020

Art: 2Twenty
Picture

Driftwood Dragon

I walked along the shore on a day of gloom
As the wind swept the ocean like a witch’s broom
The inclimate weather had the beach deserted
Alone with my thoughts is the way I preferred it

Hands in my pockets and my eyes to the sand
Life wasn’t working out the way I had planned
I thought perhaps to toss myself awash in the sea
Leaving none to know whatever happened to me

Stumbling in the surf I raised my bloodshot eyes
Searching out a reason for remaining alive
When up about a mile on a crashing wave
Struggling to the shore I spied a broken knave

It seemed to be a dragon with a broken wing
I rubbed my weathered eyes believing no such thing
The closer that I came believing less and less
Until it stood before me with a heaving chest

Rather than be frightened I extended hand
The dragon leaning forward falling nose in sand
All at once I knew that I would try to save him
Not allow his bones to be picked clean by raven

I folded up his wings and rolled him onto a blanket
Dragged him to a fountain, turned it on and he drank it
Took him to my home and he was healed in no time
Watched him fly away into the morning sunshine

Joseph John Racano
*Another installment in the ‘Poetry of Dragons’ collection
©@JosephJohnRacano/09/17/2020

Artwork by: Donato Arts
Picture

Dragon of the Drive-in

It was a late summer evening at the drive-in movie
We were snuggled in my pickup everything was groovy
There were popcorn kernels all over the place
And lipstick kisses on the side of my face

The credits started rolling and so did we
Passing by the bathrooms where I stopped to pee
Heard a big commotion going on outside
Crazy people running on the top of my ride

My girlfriend shouted ‘hurry!’ and she started to scream
Pointed to the drive in theater movie screen
I know you won’t believe it but I swear it’s true
A dragon on the screen ate the projector crew

I recognized the monster from the early show
But when the movie ended he refused to go
I saw him in the background through the matinee
I hopped into my truck and started speeding away

Came to a highway in the woods I knew
My girl suggested we should take a shortcut through
With the dragon in the mirror coming up behind us
We had to get to somewhere that it couldn’t find us

Saw the giant shadow of his wings above
Pulled the pickup truck into the tunnel of love
That was where we spent the night a-popping corn
And nine months later little Bobby was born!

Joseph John Racano

*Another installment in the 'Poetry of Dragons' collection

©@Joseph John Racano/09/16/2020

Artwork by: Ghostwalker at Deviant Art
Picture

The Besieger


In crystalline Ice had long centuries lain
Now Set, the Besieger is risin again
A parting of Autumn storm clouds in the sky
Could no longer stay that crepuscular cry

Directly descended from dragons of olde
Cut from an unholy lineage mold
Not of squishmallow come hither to fool them
Besieger knows only to wreck ruin and rule them

Shrieking berserker swept wing Autumn lurker
Stoop from on high comes the sharp-talon worker
Prey disemboweler with deadly intent
None saw him coming, but few where he went

Like his ancestors he leaves few remains
Feathers and fur hewn to bone and red stains
Black silhouette as he crosses the moon
Look to the sky he returns again soon

Joseph John Racano

©@JosephJohnRacano/08/31/2020

Art (Blue Crystal Dragon) by: Sandara at Deviant Art
Picture

Sleepy Dragon


Sleeping Dragon dreaming rainbows
Dream whichever way the wind blows
Surfing on a clouded landscape
Dreaming of a friendly handshake

Tired dragon, yawning, roaring
His conclusion, all is boring
Sticks himself with barb on tail
Tries to wake to no avail

Stretching out, reptilian smile
Maybe lounge in bed a while
Careful not to fall off cloud
Down below you'll land on crowd

Sleepy little scaly puppy
Dreaming that you are a guppy
Swimming with your guppy friends
Playing games that never end

Don't get up all day, why bother
No one here to tell your father
Keep on sleeping through the night
Dreaming everything’s alright

Joseph John Racano

©@JosephJohnRacano/08/16/2020

Artwork: Uluri
Picture

L
ady Dragon


Lady Dragon, what’s your name?
Mine is Joe, I know that’s lame
Come here often? Never mind
I won’t even waste your time

May I have- would you consider
I can’t dance, I’m such a kidder
Lady Dragon drenched in pearl
I can almost taste your world

Are those scales -or real tattoos?
Listen while I sing the blues
Where on Earth did you get those eyes
Oh, I see- they’re from the skies

Lady Dragon watch your step
You know how bad things can get
Let me throw my jacket down
Keep you dry though I may drown

Maybe I can hold your hand
Walk you back to Dragon-land
Showing hints of my desire
Steering clear your dragon-fire

And here we are, you got home safely
Coolest thing that I’ve done lately
One claw offered, one claw kissed
Truly this night ends in bliss!

Joseph John Racano
©@JosephJohnRacano/08/12/2020
Artwork by: TellerySpyro

note from the artist:
TellerySpyro
Hobbyist Digital Artist
Thanks a lot for this great poem! You're really talented!
Picture

Dragonsweep

The ground was for to rumble
The solid Earth to shake
Rocks began to tumble
The sky was raining hake

A fissure lay before me
To bifurcate the land
Obsequious the endless hordes
Fell prostrate on the sand

And when the terra was agape
A scaly giant stood
Spat arbalest of fire on
The evil and the good

Catapults but raised his ire
Archers turned to run
Coated with a phosphorus
Hotter than the sun

Malfeasant kings beseeched their gods
To rid them of this scourge
Promising their fealty
And fortunes to the Clerg’e

Their empty words fell on deaf ears
With but more lies to follow
And when the land was purged of tears
The dragon it did swallow

Joseph John Racano  7/12/2020
Picture

Reptilian Sentinel

Dank is the crypt, catawampus in its nondiscript
Altogether muddy and hewn askew, one of many among but few
Forgotten owner once tossed and disregarded
Yet somehow now lays jealously guarded

Threadbare cloth drooping from weathered sarcophagus
Afterlife squeezed by large talons atop of this
Pinning the soul of a rising undead
Manifest monster once under the bed

Scaly behemoth outlasting his chains
Aided by years of necropolis rains
Here in the kirkyard where all falls to rust
Sentinel reptile will see thee to dust

Here where the worst of men wasted their lives
Butchered their brothers mistreated their wives
Left heretofore in eternities yard
Scaly reptilian sentinel guard

Joseph John Racano
Another installment of the ‘Poetry of Dragons’ collection
Art: Crystal Sully
Picture

D
ragon Blast

Breakfast was had at the circular table
Talk be of dragons but this was no fable
Buxom young servants lay meat eggs and bread
Mention of dragons had filled them with dread

Enter the king the room now only knights
‘This won’t be one of your typical fights’
There’s tell of our kingdom lands gone up in flames
It may be a dragon out playing his games

I’m sending the very best men that I have
Sharpen your swords and bring barrels of salve
Bring me the dragon’s head dead and gone cold
Each will be paid a king’s ransom in gold

‘Open the drawbridge’ came shouting the order
One of the knights gave a last kiss to daughter
‘Back before dinner’ he boasted in hubris
Master at arms in the lead said ‘let’s do this!’

Offward they galloped in heaviest armor
Some thinking back to when things were much calmer
No talk of dragons or other concerning
Now in the distance they saw smoke and burning

‘Hold!’ said the scout pointing up to the sky
‘There be a dragon!’ the knights gave a cry
Blazing with fury and faster than lightning
No one had ever seen something so frightening

‘Dismount the horses’ yelled master at arms
Broadswords were raised, stallions brayed the alarm
Shields brought the crest of the kingdom to bare
Dragon alighted and spat fire there

Shield sword and armor now too hot to hold
Thoughts turned to living, not glory or gold
Back at the castle keep young maidens yearned
But none of their men-at-arms ever returned

Joseph John Racano

©@JosephJohnRacano/06/23/2020

Art: Ben Wootten 'Dragon's Fury' at Deviant Art
Picture

Dreq


Many times over we rose and we fell
Kept on repeating our journey to hell
Without a clear record to learn from the past
Doomed to face dragons the same as the last

Thirsting for oil that nothing could quench
Broke the Earth’s mantle releasing a stench
Tell-tale aroma that spread carcinoma
While people were lulled into taking their soma

With arrogant leaders still boasting their lies
Dreq and his minions came flooding the skies
Wells the world over erupted in flame
Ever the stronger the dragons became

Oceans evaporated, destruction was total
Hard be the lessons of Quetzalcoatl
One more promethean planet to wreck
God of the Toltec, we know him as Dreq

Joseph John Racano

Another installment of the ‘Poetry of Dragons’ collection
Art: Ivan Laliashvili at Deviant Art
https://www.facebook.com/reptilianscales
©@JosephJohnRacano/06/22/2020
Picture

I
n a Dragons Dream

Late one night in the heat of Summer
I tried to wake from deepest slumber
With fits and starts and flailing arms
I groped for clocks and slapped alarms

But try as might I could not scream
For I had found myself in a dragon’s dream
Silurians dream unlike we do
Encased in fog and misty blue

Stretching outward with my hands
And arms that felt like rubber bands
Bouncing in the dark I felt it
Like being in a pouch of velvet

To my delight I understood
He was sleeping in a wood
I felt the moss and smelled the leaves
Every time the dragon breathed

Underbelly ‘neath my feet
Under that, soft bed of peat
Not so bad as it would seem
Being in a dragon’s dream

Maybe if he were to wake
Some foul turn this dream would take
But as for now ‘tis only wonder
This not unpleasant spell I’m under

Dragons dream like rivers flow
Meander everywhere they go
Quite unlike the waking hours
When they menace tall stone towers

All the day they spit their fire
Strafe a township burn a shire
But knowing they have done their best
Even dragons have to rest

Joseph John Racano
Another installment of the ‘Poetry of Dragons’ collection
©@JosephJohnRacano/06/10/2020
Picture

D
ragon and the Waife

The world’s gone crazy Mr. Dragon, what’s a child to do
Why can’t they all get along just like me and you
Thank you once again for standing still as dragon can
While I blow you dandelion kisses with my hand

Thank you too, for raising me and keeping me quite safe
Lucky little girl I am, leviathan and waife
Later take me on your back and let me sit up high
Spread your mighty dragon wings and lift me to the sky

Fly around the world a while let me be your dragon child
Only you can make me smile why do others find you vile
Afterward just set me down we’ll picnic by the lake
You can roast some fish and there’s a dragon’s thirst to slake

The world’s gone crazy Mr. Dragon, what’s a child to do
Why can’t they all get along just like me and you
Here along the alpine shores we’re out of reach of men
I’ll collect more dandelions then we’ll start again

Joseph John Racano
Picture

D
ragon Races

Hey pretty girl pony tails and braces
Let me take you out to the dragon races
They’re hard to find but I know some places
They get so close you can see their faces

Might get chilly don’t forget your sweater
Or just wear mine with the varsity letter
If your mom complains go ahead and let her
The time’s just right and it don’t get better

No ordinary race
They’re on the edge of space
Then at a dragon’s pace
They’re right there in your face

Hey pretty girl in the saddle shoes
Don’t sit home with the teen age blues
The sky’s lit up in your favorite hues
I’m parked outside let’s take a cruise

You won’t believe it when they fly past
There’s one red dragon who's really fast
Crossed the finish then they crashed
Green one’s still in a body cast

So come on baby what do you say
Put your barbie dolls away
Dragon races end in May
Let’s go where the dragons play

Joseph John Racano 5/28/20
Picture
Friend of the Skyvern

At a clearing in the woods
Prone beside a log
I heard a crocodilian croak
Mistook it for a frog

Then did a brightly beast alight
Of the feather and of fang
Who set my heart a-quiver
With the throaty song he sang

I recognized the Skyvern
Both dragon and a bird
Nothing quite a wyvern
Then another song I heard

The Skyvern was at meeting
And bowed before the meek
Listening with attentive ear
To a songbird with a squeak

The brightly feathered Skyvern
Stooped low and lower still
Smiling at the songbird perched
As if on window sill

And only did the reptile know
The tune the songbird sung
For they had often met like this
Beneath where willows hung

The bird gave whistle, chirp and cheep
The Skyvern settled down to sleep
And soon the soothing melody
Caused everything at peace to be

Until such time the bird took flight
And Skyvern flew into the night
Their feathers preened all nicely cleaned
No better friends were ever dreamed

Joseph John Racano

©@josephjohnracano/12/7/2021

Art: x-Celebril-x



Picture

Dancing with the Dragon

I was out one night on a rocky outcropping
Where a distant boom-box had the hip-hop a-popping
And standing before me both frightful and tall
Was a fearsome dragon who held me in thrall

With translucent wings of a blue quite new to me
He bade me indulge in his dancing tom foolery
I threw down my pack, gave my best Michael Jackson
Please hear me out as I get all the facts in

I stepped toward the dragon and thrust out my hips
Swept back my hair started pursing my lips
Smacked open palms on the sides of my legs
At sideline were dragons who drank straight from kegs

At last I was done and I pointed my finger
Sure after that no sane dragon would linger
But the translucent winger gave me a surprise
He nodded his head and he batted his eyes

His dance moves were strong, he had rhythm and timing
And one of his home boys stood up started rhyming
I looked all around me and what did I see
Those dragons in rhythm all laughing at me

He spread out his wings, and my arms did the same
He opened his mouth came a tongue and a flame
I dropped to the floor with a spin and a pose
And off flew the horde, I had vanquished my foes

©@JosephJohnRacano/8/19/22

Art: Xenna Demonorph


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