Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Dragon Poetry anybody?

March 21st is World Poetry Day, as declared by the UN. Poetry makes things inclusive. Dragons are revered and feared and rarely included. 






I randomly googled dragon poetry and came across this one, which I really liked:

                                                               Serious Omission
     I know that there are dragons,
     St. George's, Jason's, too,
     And many modern dragons
     With scales of green and blue;

     But though I've been there many times
     And carefully looked through,
     I can't find a dragon
     In the cages at the zoo!

By John Farrarr from Project Gutenberg


The next one had a lot to do with our current environmental worries. Water. Here it is:

The Water Dragon

H2O dear me!
The water dragon’s
drunk my tea!

H2O what a laugh!
The water dragon’s
in my bath!

H2O what a joke!
The water dragon’s
got my soap!

H2O what a howl!
The water dragon’s
pinched my towel!

H2O what a mess!
The water dragon’s
wet my vest!

H2O how weird!
The water dragon’s
disappeared!

H2O that’s that!
No more water dragon!
No more rap!
There’s no more water
in the tap …

© Celia Warren from Poetry Box

Poetry can convey much more than what the words say. It's what's between the lines that matters. Poems like the second one can be very relevant to problems around us. It can touch us and eventually change us. By reading and reciting poetry, we emphasize an oral tradition which is mostly forgotten today. There was a time when people memorized very long poems and stories and went around reciting them to people who were interested. Those professions are gone, but the memory remains. Poetry in many ways is a bridge to the past.