Never Laugh at Live Dragons
Some text directly from and inspired by:
“The Hobbit”, J.R.R. Tolkien, Chapter 12 Inside Information, pg 190
also inspired by: Samar Jade’s Poem for LexPoMo: “In the Style of Glenis Redmond”
Riddling-talk with the dragon, Smaug
This is how you talk to dragons
“Well, thief!
I smell you and I feel your air
I hear your breath
Come along!
Help yourself again
There is plenty and to spare!”
No thank you, O Smaug the Stupendous
I do not come for presents
gold alone didn’t bring me too
But only, just to have a look at you
to see if the tales ring true
of your magnificent hues
“Did you now?”
Truly
songs and tales fall
utterly short of the
reality
O smaug
Chiefest and greatest of
Calamities
“You have nice manners for a thief and liar,
you seem familiar with my name
but I don’t remember smelling you before
Who are you and where do you come from, may I ask?”
You may indeed!
I am she, from hill country, from hills old as time I sprang
carefree as lions-tooth in the air I flew
Through canyon and mountain, my path led me.
Desert dweller, they call me.
I am she who walks across sands and pine forest groves
” So I can well believe – but that isn’t a name, is it?”
I am the lightning bolt, the wind reader, the cloud speaker. I was given a number that doesn’t come off
“Lovely titles,” sneered the dragon
I am she who buries friend and foe alike and reminds all to drink a glass of water.
I came from the end of a sac, though no sac do I own
“Those don’t sound very creditable,” the dragon scoffed
I am a friend to dog and cat, parakeet and cockatoo, hawk and crow.
I am Jackpot winner and scratch-off sinner
I am Disc Jockey and night-maker
I am Horse-girl and Mustang-Rider
“That’s better, but don’t let your imagination run away with you.”
– Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1937.