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David Dunlap Poem
Long ago and far away
In a town called Mellongourd,
There was a boy who tried his hand
At training with a sword
The boy was young and energetic,
But not quite agile and free.
He stumbled and bumbled and tripped and fell,
Right into the apple tree
The boy was small and very weak
And he wasn’t too quick with a blade,
But the boy was smart and much too clever
And he never acted afraid
Now over the hill and ‘round the bend,
There was a giant cave.
And in that cave there lived a dragon
Who made even the mighty no longer brave
And ev’ry night at ten-o-clock
The dragon would visit the town
The people screamed and hid and ran
Yet in his fire they still would drown
This lonesome town had a kind
Who feared the mighty beast,
“Whoever kills this thing,” he said,
“Will be thrown a splendid feast.”
So knight and knight would try again
Only to be defeated
They’d try to trick the awful thing
But it simply couldn’t be cheated
Every day as new knights marched by,
The boy would smile and wave.
He’d watch them go up to battle,
And most likely their grave.
Constantly the boy would train
With his combat teacher
For the boy had a simple, sly plan
To slay the awful creature.
One day the boy thought he was ready
To complete his dangerous task.
He grabbed his sword and shield
As well as a large bucket and a flask
That night the boy snuck out of his house
And went on the small dirt path.
He reached the dragon’s gigantic lair
And hoped he wouldn’t feel its wrath.
The boy reached the dragon’s hollow
And stuck his head inside
“Come on out, you mean ol’ monster!”
He prayed he wouldn’t be fried.
The boy began to survey his surroundings,
To ensure his plan for the brawl.
He saw some trees, a river,
And the massive, stony cave wall
When the dragon slithered out of his den,
He was met with a sly smirk.
The dragon reared back to burn the boy
Then, “Wait! Don’t be such a jerk!”
The dragon stopped and stared at him
As the boy pulled out his shield.
“What does it prove to burn a young boy?”
He asked as he backed into the field.
“Nothing, I suppose,” the dragon muttered
And scratched his scaly head.
“But what do I do, if I don’t burn you?”
The dragon slowly said.
“Well first of all, you could prove to everyone
That you can burn anything to the third degree
If you can, you will be more than able
To scorch that massive tree
“Of course I can,” the dragon scoffed
And reared its mighty head
With a giant breath and a burst of flames,
The tree was gone and the ashes were red
Copyright © David Dunlap | Year Posted 2014
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Details |
David Dunlap Poem
“Very good” the young boy said,
And walked up to the cave.
“I bet you cannot burn this.
No one is that brave.”
“Why not! The dragon roared,
And took another breath.
He exhaled the heated fires of Hell,
Making the cave wall as black as death
“Impressive.” The boy smiled.
But this last one may be a push.
This task is near impossible:
I want you to burn that dry bush.
The dragon let out a hearty laugh
And prepared for one last slaughter
But the boy ran over to the river
And filled his bucket with water.
The boy closed his eyes and concentrated
On never being afraid
“I’m okay; I can beat this monster.”
He gripped tighter to his blade.
The boy was small and very weak
And he wasn’t too quick with a blade,
But the boy was smart and much too clever
And he never acted afraid
So the dragon inhaled one last time
And heated up his throat
He closed his scaly eyes,
And prepared to give the bush a firey coat.
But the boy jumped in with his bucket
And doused the dragon’s mouth
Then he grabbed his flask and drank a potion
To make him unseen if things go south
The dragon looked about in confusion
For everything happened so fast
“Where did you go, you stupid boy?
And where is my fire?” he asked
“I am invisible!” the boy said with glee
It’s my dad’s secret potion.
And you’ve run out of fire because of this bucket
Which was filled up with water and set into motion
The scaly dragon hung his head
And sighed a smoky sigh.
“I’m just so glad that you helped me out
And now I must say goodbye.
“You see, I couldn’t stop my terror
For I am simply much too scary.
But now that you have stopped my fire,
I can laugh and be cheerful and merry!”
The boy smiled and watched the dragon
as he flew off into the night.
The boy turned around and headed home,
Worn out from the fight.
But when the boy reached his home,
He was greeted with a cheer
There was shouting and laughing and singing and dancing
And quite a bit of beer
The king stood up to give a speech
And raised his bubbling cup
“To the boy!” he yelled and sat back down
As a chant began to rise up
“The boy is small and very weak
And he isn’t too quick with a blade,
But the boy is smart and much too clever
And he never acts afraid”
Copyright © David Dunlap | Year Posted 2014
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