The air hangs heavy with its putrid sick
Its shrieking cry turns blood cold
Its glittering treasure greater than gold
But mountains of offerings stacked wall to wall
Cannot suppress my hungry dragon’s call!
People forget how to talk when they look in its eyes
Its face of red is balled up rage
The little pet dragon mum keeps in a cage
She got it as an egg and like birds in a nest
My mum kept it warm tucked up her vest!
It hasn’t got fangs yet and drinks from a bottle
But its angry red fists are tipped in tiny claws
It curdles blood with its demanding roars
The smell of sour milk and rotten death
The acid it spits is worse than fire breath!
That’s really my pet dragon, not the new baby!
Sophie walked out of the school doors, scuffing her feet in irritation. She held her rejected homework against her chest, her face growing red as she thought about what Miss Greenbank had said. Her Nanny waited at the gates, stomping her feet in the January cold.
"What's up muffin?"
"I have to do my homework again!"
They began to stroll along the crisp pavement as they talked.
"That's ok, I'm sure Granddad'll help you, was it the maths?"
"Not even! She didn't believe about me about mum coming back from the hot spottle with a dragon!"
Her Nanny laughed, putting her arm on Sophie's shoulder,
"He sure does roar like one!"
I had so much fun writing the poem for this, I nearly entered just that, but I was worried it may get disqualified for not being a proper story, and only fulfilling the prompt once you realised it was from the misguided perspective of a young child, mistaking cradle cap for scales and connecting all the wrong dots. I am not sure if it takes away from the poem overall but I feel safer with it in. It was so much fun to write, hearkening back to my love of Brian Patten as a child. Let me know if you think I should have added the story part, or gone with my gut and just entered the poem.
This is my entry to @mctiller 's regular #twentyfourhourshortstory contest - check out the latest round where the prompt is: A little boy or girl constantly insists that they really have a pet dragon.
Photo Credit - Another one I poorly photoshopped! The Dragon and Crib are both from pixabay.
Thank you for stopping by
Love and Sparkle ~ Calluna