- Tending the DragonSleep -

They lie deep in their stony slumber
silent beneath the heavy blankets of long ages
and there is scarcely a restless twitch
heaving snort
or somnambulist’s nocturnal stagger
to suggest the presence of an immanent peril
just below the surface
of an average day

Sometimes the old ones awaken
hungry and intemperate
and invincible claws rake trembling meat from the bones
of a shuddering world
become a gurgling crimson turbulence
until a casual weariness and boredom
calms the capricious fury
at last

Eons past we fled the pristine land
expelled by a relentless malice
more ancient and voracious than time
seeking refuge in every distant sanctuary
at the ends of the world;
but they have followed
led by the living chain
that binds us

When the mind-quakes recede
and clotted red dirt dries
once again crumbling in the light of day
to scatter on the winds of spring
She returns
and attends to their merciful indolence
with long and gentle lullabies
to comfort troubled dreams

Like a velvety drizzle of cool water
She soothes the rousing pang of burning throats
and stills the shifting undulations of a thirsty desert
vast and fecund;
the harmless little ones are cute
but they get big so fast
and the food is plentiful
as autumn descends...