Origins: The Birth of the Races

The Creation as told by Dragons

A thousand centuries ago,

When earth was newly formed,

The gods convened, and from their hands,

The Races all were born,

From earth they plucked up stone and silt,

And gave it legs to stand,

They made it strong in back and mind,

And justly called it “Man,”

From wood was born a Lesser Race,

Of creatures for Man’s pleasure,

To roam the earth on four like legs,

With minds of smaller measure,

From sky they took a bit of air,

And fashioned two small wings,

Said they, "This Race will be most blessed,

And ever always sing,"

From ocean’s depths, water was drawn,

And with it, made they scales,

Then fins, then gills, and called them “Fish,”

Such are the Races’ tales,

But had they also fire left,

And there the gods did falter,

They made a Race, but from their birth,

The world was soon to smolder,

Neither Man, nor Fish, nor Bird,

Could save the earth from burning,

Or ever hope to put to rest,

These beasts of lesser learning,

So then, the gods did intervene,

To rectify their error,

Said they, "We’ll make a Race to rule,

And end, at last, this terror,"

So took they earth, and wood, and air,

And water in their hands,

And made the world a Race of Kings,

To govern all the lands,

Then placed they fire in the King,

Squarely within his chest,

He came to life and was complete,

So then the gods did rest,

The king was swift and brave of heart,

And quickly did he rid,

The earth of all the Fire Race,

The gods’ mistake undid,

And peace, at last, the world did share,

Each Race began to thrive,

They multiplied to fill the earth,

And found themselves alive,

The King ruled strong and just until,

In time, he too bore many,

And ruled they over all the earth,

More powerful than any,

For he was all, each Race made one,

The best of each was he,

From water, scales, from air, his wings,

His claws and legs from tree,

He shared with Man his intellect,

But had he other gifts,

The fire brought him godlike skills,

And from this, grew there rifts,

One day, said Man, “This is unjust!

Should we not rule instead?

We were firstborn, the Elder Race!

The blessing’s on our head!

Resentment grew and burned until,

The Race of Kings was hated,

Said they, “We’ll let them rule themselves,”

Their thrones they abdicated,

But man was selfish, filled with lust,

For power and for war,

The Race of Kings they hunted ‘till,

There seemed to be no more,

And so the world did carry on,

With man upon the throne,

While Dragons dwindled ever still,

Thriving in myth alone.

Author's Note

This poem coincides with my book, Towadako. It explains the origins of Man, Dragons, etc. and sets the stage for the rest of the book. This is only Part 1, a general history of how man came to power and where dragons fit in. Part 2 soon to come. Please leave comments, critiques, etc. Thanks!

Reviews

[Samuel Dickens]

An interesting account, well told. I'm not sure about the word "undid", but it's understandable.

[NoneOfYourBusiness akaK..]

what an intricate and imaginative offering of a creation tale~!!! again~the rhyme scheme takes me back to childhood when I was riveted by the incredible rhyming fantasy of John The Valiant~

[Norma M Sutton]

This definitely catches the readers attention. Very nice.