This poem is an *IA Writing Competition (creative work category) entry.
A poem based on the current Israeli-Palestinian crisis, touching on the intergenerational effects of war on children.
Dragon Dreaming
On the out-going tide
Some see reef and not much more
I see ancient sleeping dragons
Curled up close to shore
I imagine they lie waiting
For a distant lunar call
To a mystic moonlight gathering
At the dragons’ seaside hall
For the swirling sands have whispered
And the tongues of tide do cry
Of a distant war and carnage
In the land called Palestine
Dragon nostrils flare in anger
As they hear the deeds of man
Of the bombs and broken children
Annihilation of homeland
So they hatch a plan together
And as one they do agree
To take a piece of this land with them
Destination Galilee
A mighty rumble there would happen
As they tunnel the Dead Sea
To burst and split that land forever
Two-state solution by decree
And the dragons then would gather
On the nearby Gaza shore
To lift the broken children gently
And see their parents weep no more
They would wing them out in numbers
To the calmer waters near
To that waiting piece of Paradise
Free of violence and fear
Then prevailing winds would lift high
Those ancient warriors abroad
And return them once more swiftly
To our curling rocky shore
As they settle in their circle
Dragons pen these words with care
And command the shifting sands to spread them
To all those who want to dare
Share the dream of ancient dragons
Protect the children far and wide
For the seed of life lies in them
Love or hate on the incoming tide.
Lidia Myburgh lives in a bush paradise near Toodyay, Western Australia. She enjoys reading, hiking, kayaking, appreciating quiet open spaces, painting, and creative writing but only ever seems to write poetry on windy days by the sea.
* Full IA Writing Competition details HERE.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
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