Dragon Lake

Bao Peng sat back and lit his pipe,

The hob was cold, the ash quite dead,

He drew a tiny firelight

That lit the scar high on his head.

While Zhang was hushed, he gathered round

Each brother, cousin; neighbours too,

‘Bao Peng will not begin his tale

Until your silence begs him to!’

 

‘In years gone by,’ Bao Peng began,

‘When revolution ruled this land,

Our village lived at peace back then,

We helped each other, as we can!

We grew rice in the paddy fields

Kept pigs and horses, sheep and game,

And lived, though poor, contentedly

Until the Helmsman’s Red Guards came.’

 

‘We drew our water from the lake

And shared in everything we grew,

The Buddhists had a temple there

A thousand years, for all we knew.

They held our manuscripts and deeds,

Cared for our souls, and history,

These holy men did no-one harm

But lived an ageless mystery!

 

The Red Guards came, in gangs and droves,

Just schoolkids really, like some mob,

With filthy mouths they screamed at us,

Then beat our women, killed our dogs.

They made us swear to love their Mao,

To hate the ‘Olds’ - old buildings, books,

We didn’t stand a chance -’ Peng stopped…

And felt the scar from Red Guard hooks!

 

‘They killed my wife, Mei Fang,’ he said,

‘They stoned her up on Bullock Hill,’

The tears streamed freely down his cheeks

And we could see, he loved her still!

‘And then they went down to the lake

To burn the temple, burn the books,

The monks were slaughtered, beaten down

With clubs and knives, with swords and hooks!’

 

‘The flames came through the Temple roof,

The pages of the books were charred,

We stood well back, as well we knew

What they’d not know - the Beijing Guard!

A form stirred deep within the lake,

The waters moved, and out there slid

The monstrous shape of fang and claw,

The greatest ‘Old’ that ever lived!’

 

‘The screams were heard for hours that night,

The ghastly shrieks of those devoured,

The ones who raised their clubs to me,

Dragged in the water, overpowered!

The Red Guards never came our way

Again, we held a village wake…

They should have asked, before they burned

Just why we called it - Dragon Lake!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Mark]

You know me, Dave: always have to find the poetic devices, the undergirding. Seems as though the root message is to beware of the cold slithery thing that lays temporarily placated beneath our placid surfaces. For our natures may, unbeknownst to ourselves, be just as malevolent and destructive as were the soldiers of the Red Guard. The seeking of a new present may well result in the irretrievable loss of much of value, which we had consigned to others for safekeeping.

[K. D. Kromminga]

The ultimate poetic justice in more ways then one. If only the human collective consciousness had enough power these days to bring some of your sense of justice to life. Sadly scenes such of these have repeated themselves in cycles throughout the history of humankind. Its estimated that 5000 years of knowledge was lost in the "Dark Ages" with the fall of the Classical world. What could we have accomplished by now if we had never lost that knowledge? Too many times ignorance and intolerance seeks to snuff out the flame of enlightenment and send us into another "Dark Age." When will we learn not to give charismatic lunatics power over the destiny of mankind?

[David Scott]

I'm loving every poem! I like the history and the fact that you are accurate with your cultural references. I almost believe in Dragon Lake...

[JB Murray]

BRILLIANT! Lol... man oh man, what more can be said about this. I may just have to print this and commit it to memory! This is truly fantastic story telling! Thanks for sharing!

[Katrina Mckeown]

I could see me telling this poetic tale to my grandchildren, I love your style of witing and your use of imagery, very much enjoyed reading this!

[TL Boehm]

WOW. Again - you have that "bard" feel to your work that is wonderful and rare here at the Cafe. Such a pleasure to read you. You are becoming one of my favorite poets here. I so appreciate a "story teller"

[A.r. Bazian]

well... ive got to say! although this may be partially true, Mao's efforts have made something out that land of a billion people then! so poor and starving a huge bulk of them were, though unjustified was his sin!
all in all, about this piece, i shall not pour about its cue, but dear David, your rhymes are strong, numbered are those like you!

respect!
cheers!

[Wendy Seames Garner]

I just tried searching my library and Amazon.com to see if they had any books of your writing, what a disappointment to find there weren't. Great writing David!

[A Soap Mess Stories]

Love epic poems...nicely written...

[emmajoy]

What a brilliant finish! Your superbly written words flow through time, describing events so graphically. The tale is certainly one to be told by a fireside where the best of history lingers, somehow the flickering shadows and the scent of smoke builds a war-like atmosphere that gradually flares into the sky, then explodes its justified revenge.

[Morrigan Nicole]

Brilliant prose!