Saturday, October 27, 2018
The Sea Dragon––poem by Dorothy
The Sea Dragon
We did our best not to notice.
Even when the dull roars
from the bottom of the sea
interrupted our conversation
and we had to wait until the
groans and gnashing subsided
before going on.
Then we felt the floor
rock a bit
each morning when
we got up.
As if some workman
down below
was riveting things
together
or tearing them apart.
But when the west wall
fell down
of its own accord
we had to admit
that something major
was going on,
a happening that no one
wished to talk about,
an occurrence we could
no longer ignore.
And so we waited in dread,
our eyes not meeting,
our tongues swollen
against our teeth,
as we waited
for the monster
to appear.
And then when he came,
we did not know
what to do.
Was it some shadowy thing
constructed who knows where,
far from our world?
Was it our own shadow selves
coming forth again,
what had been buried
for so long
returning to tell us
that we were no
longer safe,
no longer free
to turn our heads away?
Dorothy Walters
October 25, 2018
