By George! Poor Dragon!

By George! Poor Dragon

 

There was a tale in times gone by

Of how a valiant knight

Destroyed a dragon and so saved

A maiden from her plight.

But all that happened long ago.

Now dragons are protected

And breeding pairs are kept in zoos

And best genes are selected.

 

No more can dragons breathe with flame.

They couldn’t light a candle.

If they were still as bygone days,

They’d be too hot to handle.

And flying is a big no no.

For that could cause great harm.

They simply aren’t like hawks or kites.

Land and they’d break your arm.

 

 

 

 

 

Their size has been a problem.

And so they’ve been bred to shrink

And now they have another name.

For dragon, now read skink.

I visited the zoo last week.

It really was a treat,

To watch the apes cavorting

And the lions ripping meat.

 

But on a far off dusty branch,

A lonely lizard sat.

His thoughts were on the good old days

When he could knock ‘em flat

With one sweep of his scaly tail.

One breath could fry their gizzards,

And nobody on Earth would have

The gall to call them lizards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These days a dragon listens

Whilst some ever hopeful sounds

Them out on how to change the world,

And make a million pounds.

But, whilst the fate of maidens

Has quite drastically improved,

The dragon has lost all, and well,

You can’t help feeling moved.

 

©Ruth Twyman Lockyer January 2014

ruthtwyman@hotmail.com