For 1sojournal NaPoWriMo Poetry Prompt #25: Day 25
http://1sojournal.wordpress.com/
dragons, course, become, compass, sail, soul
padded, lock, hides, deepening, conquer, definitions
dragonimages.net
A Comparative Compatibility
Make myth from these moments of owned
existence, confident in knowing that all
these dragons be mine.*
What might compare
with fire and flare
of a dragon?
Perhaps human imagination
that first birthed,
then gave it varied
layers of definition.
Set the beast to sail a course
through personal affairs,
often locked in opposition.
Gave even its padded hide
a certain tough invulnerability,
then insisted it be
conquered.
Destroyed as fiercely
feared foe, even though
continued life of soul
demands it be
befriended.
Elizabeth Crawford 4/25/14
Notes: *Epigram is the final stanza of the poem from which the above word list was taken. It may be found here: https://soulsmusic.wordpress.com/2009/01/31/here-but-for-me-there-be-dragons/
As a student of History, I found the Period called The Dark Ages to be intriguing. It is called that because subsistence living (survival level of existence) doesn’t allow energy for the imaginative or creative abilities we call Art, including writing. There was a definite pall on any of those activities. But, that darkness gave birth to the Renaissance, a time of expanding exploration, Art, and myth making (the stories of dragons and dragon slayers as only one example). When I sat to write this poem, all I had was the first stanza and nothing else. It took a while to find the comparison I was seeking. But even then, I wasn’t really sure where it was going or might end. So, I went back to that original poem and all the light bulbs lit up. Sometimes it takes a while. Humankind has periodically attempted to destroy the products of its own imagination (think about budget cuts to the Arts and Music programs within the education system). Compare that to this current army of poets choosing to write a poem a day for thirty days, simply because we can. I truly believe that the imagination is the voice of the soul, breaking free from whatever darkness that would inhibit it. In my Personal Mythology that makes my imagination a firey-red dragon named Marananthaheth, and this blog, her lair.
I took three of your words, Elizabeth, which spoke to me this morning…..I love your poem, especially the closing stanza…….yes, the continued life of soul demands that it be befriended. Wise words.
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