Whelp
When her mother was killed
the cub was taken to a settlement
and fed from a bottle
she lived in a cage
and later ate what was given
she performed circus tricks
She was good at the things
her body was made to do
but she never learned how to hunt
she never mated
or cared for or played with litter mates or found
Her place in the order of Her kind.
When the soldiers left her town
they left her in the cage
Some people say the dragon taught the hunter to breathe fire
and in
return she taught that howl that shook the crescent on icy knights.
I am
covered in silver scales, bathed in the bright fullness of the lunar
ray.
When I sing, the words of my song leave me and the residual
distortions
carry parts of me to new places.
Old people from before the occupation
let her out
and she wandered
asking for handouts.
They did not want a wild animal there
but they did not blame her and let her stay.
In the winter, a woman with three serpents
tattooed in a circle on her breasts
walked into the town
having traveled from somewhere far
and became
the lover of the beast
and taught her to fish and trap.
In spring, the woman removed her clothes
and revealed to the people bright green
and yellow scales and a long tail.
The dragon lay an enormous emerald colored egg
which gave off heat and turned the sky red.
When the soldiers came back
they wore no uniforms.
They burned the forest
and killed the dragon woman.
A woman covered in fur ran screaming into the village
Some people brought a large green egg
when it hatched, the baby serpent
was kept for the circus.
He was good at what his body was made to do
The woman who screamed
was called a lunatic and locked up.
When the soldiers left
they left them in cages.
The old people released them when they could
and gave the woman a job chopping insects.
She fed the little serpent who quickly grew to look
like his mother
The woman cried but did not blame him
She taught him how to chop insects and live
with his tail hidden.
One foggy morning the people woke to a beautiful song
In the town center all gathered around a naked infant
Noone knew how or why it had arrived.
they said we have little left to offer you
but you are welcome here and we will cherish your little song
The baby stood up and began dancing and the people thought
this is unusual maybe it is a god like Jesus
No we must keep our gods and humans separate.
They gave the baby a name, Owal,
which means Teacher of Wholeness
and as Owal grew the people watched
and waited hoping for answers to The Mysteries.
The questions piled up into an unsolved heap because
Owal loved only to dance on the earth and sing to the sky
but never said a word.
Only a few noticed the animal people had begun rebuilding the city.
The serpent man watched Owal dance
and knew to create structures that conserved energy
and made use of local material which had been overlooked
or maybe just forgotten.
Growling woman listened to Owals screeches and
humming and sweet melodies and learned how councils form
respecting all life
When the soldiers returned
they carried bright shields
and howled like demons
They overpopulated the city
and the animal people left forever.
The unity underlying all of creation uncoils, dries up, even
disappears
from conscious memory but when the Spring storms come life
returns.
Where is the memory held?
not in rocks or rain or air or even
the energy that pulses like fire
between being and not being
Where?
You can see how the wolves
and bears and badgers live far away from us
and the serpents live underground,
hidden, inspiring fear and reverence.
This is how it has been
but I sense something is happening to me in this moment
Its as if I have more than one spirit in me
and I do not intend to cage any spirit in me
or hide my tail or my wings or my teeth
and I am frightened as my egg tooth pounds against my
walls and I am crying because I fear the past will repeat
and I am dreaming of flying and singing gratitude for life
and I am crying, crying because so much is possible.
Copyright 1996 Beridha Beridha.
Email
More Menu
Main Menu