Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Teddy Grahams and Dragons

There comes a point when we all eventually searched the internet for the first time. I specifically remember the first two strongest memories from those first couple of days searching the WWW.

1) I saw my first picture of a starving child from Africa. Because I happened to be eating a box of teddy grahams at that point, and because I was so young, that was the first moment it hit me that not everyone gets to eat. From then on, I couldn't look at teddy grahams the same way...



But then... the best thing I found (and to this day I revisit the website remembering how much I loved to spend time on it), was Lair 2000. It's a site completely dedicated to dragons. Below here is the home page link:


After digging through the site I found a poem that really connected with me. It's called "Where did all the dragons go" by Fay Robinson. It emphasized a point that to this day I stick with-- that dragons are real, but they're just not here. I've always been a believer of magic and whatnot, but especially in dragons.

Where Did All The Dragons Go?

by Fay Robinson

 


Long ago and by and by,
Dragons ruled the earth and sky.
They scaled the mountains, climbed the trees,
slept in castles, swam in seas.
and flew, they FLEW the turquoise skies
with gilded wings and amber eyes.
Some with feathers, some with scales,
Some with furry heads and tails.
Gentle dragons, young and old,
hoarding gemstones, guarding gold,
gathering in dragon crowds,
breathing fire, making clouds.
The fiery games that dragons played
made men and women quite afraid.
but children always understood
that dragons in their hearts, were good:
they loved to join the dragon fun--
dancing, prancing in the sun,
roaring, singing, telling tales,
soaring over hills and dales.
Then one starry autumn night,
the dragons woke up with a fright.
Their leader's voice boomed overhead--
"Now's the time" was all it said.
Little dragons, big ones too,
every one knew what to do.
Those on mountains, those in trees,
those in castles, those in seas,
all let out a dragon sigh,
all took wing and filled the sky.
Children heard a thunderous sound
as dragon wings beat all around.
From every home across the land,
children scurried hand in hand
and watched those dragons flying by,
watched and sadly wondered why.
Sparks, like lightning, lit the way
Dragons slowly flew away--
over mountains, over trees,
over castles, over seas--
then, at the edge of earth and sky,
dragons called a sad good-bye.
That's the last 'twas ever heard
of dragons---not another word.
Where did all the dragons go?
The smartest scholars still don't know.
But next time there's a thunderstorm,
watch the smoky gray clouds form,
watch the lightning flash its light,
hear the thunder in the night.
It might be so we don't forget
that dragons could be living yet--
waiting in a world nearby
just beyond the earth and sky.




I was able to learn one of the basic 101 points behind internet use. It comes with both the good and the bad, and while you might run into some sad, crude, or frustrating material as you surf, you also have a chance to find some truly magical things.

1 comment:

  1. love the poem; it's really quite beautiful in it's child-like admiration.

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