There's not a complicated backstory for this one! I was walking the compost over to the bins next the community pool and the opening stanza popped into my head. A poem formed from there!
The dragon sleeps atop its horde;
King of tooth and claw and flame.
Resting silent - the scaly lord,
As the centuries pass and wane.
Curled beneath draped red wings,
It slumbers through the years.
Dreaming of great unfathomable things;
Ancient wonders and long-lost fears.
None from our village beneath its den,
Have e’er seen its face or form.
Its thundering roar is lost from ken,
Unknown to all now born.
We turn away those who would quest,
To sate their greed for gold.
Its waking ire we dare not test,
This monster from ages old.
“Let it sleep!” We say instead,
On its bed of plundered treasure.
Let it rest its weary head,
And may no fools take its measure.
We live in peace with our neighbor,
Unknowing though he may be.
Why risk our lives, our loves, and labor,
Just to take a look and see?
So on and on the dragon sleeps,
And may the curious hold their tongues.
Let his dreams stay long and deep,
So our calm can carry on.
