Dragon Eggs on the Moon

If I should die before you, my love

Wait a few days; then

don’t just write me a poem-

if you love me enough, you’ve already

done that. Build me a world;

don’t make me live eternally

as a prisoner in this one. Start small;

Middle Earth took entire ages

to unfurl its wonders. Scatter me

to the 6 cardinal directions

and continue to love someone

or something in each of them.

 

Recall your most valiant childhood

fantasy; be the knight who comes

at last not to my rescue,

but at least, to my home.

Draw me a universe,

and give me a kingdom to rule,

in it. Give me a ship with three masts

and an explorer’s mission. A vest

with enough pockets to collect

rocks from undiscovered subterranean

continents. Don’t keep me as Arwen,

let me ride to battle like Eowyn;

or be the Moiraine who puts the

whole damned thing into motion.

 

Let the invisible demons be flesh

and blood monsters

so I can get the credit of men

when I slay them one by one;

give me a hold designed for

hatching dreams and dragon eggs.

Ask the men I love, to drop

their egos at the doorways

of the world’s greatest concert

halls and teach me to dance;

let them love me enough

to follow me across borders,

this time. Give me a gallery

where people 100 years after

my passing will wonder who

painted landscapes

of the human heart so detailed

it is obvious she not only visited,

but lived there a good while.

Provide me with a good sturdy ladder

tall enough to reach the moon.

 

I deserve a novel;

I deserve a universe

that remembers to be enthralled

of its own existence. I deserve

a small chapter in every book

you write for the rest of your

life; I deserve water that human

beings can safely drink from

and words warm enough

to hatch dragon eggs

on the moon. If I should die

before you, my love; please

take some time to visit the world

I go back to- and bring some of it,

to the one I leave you; hopefully

a little more magical, for having

passed so briefly

through its towering cities

flowing like time

towards the oceans of love.

Reviews

[Rick Puetter]

You have a heroic heart, and I've always admired that about you. You are always a fighter, and while your goal might be to win, that is not why you fight. You fight because the fight is just. Unfortunately, I have a more pragmatic and fatalistic view. It is the view of a colder and more calculating physicist that looks unemotionally at the Universe because I don't wish to have my view unduly colored by subjective feelings. Yet still I fight as well, and I understand the human need to fight. But ultimately I don't expect to win, and I have no illusions that I deserve to win. Still, I'll accept small personal victories and enjoy those, and share them with my friends. Yet, I will make no impassioned speeches to those following in my footsteps, other than to recommend being honest with yourself, and with the Universe and others. And pick your battles, and best of luck in obtaining small victories. As we are small, finite creatures, all that we need are small victories. Victories that last years are remarkable and enviable, but I suspect being mere mortals we cannot enjoy victories that last eons.

This is a beautiful poem, Marie. You have always been one of the best writers on WC. But as a general comment, in my poetry I normally try to avoid references that are specific to a particular time such as your Tolkien references. Still, you make them very poignant, and they add power to your writing. So it's hard to say that this is a weakness. It seems merely to be a different preference between the two of us, but you carry it out very well.

A beautiful battle cry, Marie. Keep writing and keep up with your remarkable work outside of WC. Stay well. The world needs more people like you.

Rick