The First Gargoyle

no disclaimers

A

My obsidian wings are taut. I glide towards him,

my claws outstretched & ready for the embrace.

His tail swishes in circles as he soars 7 feet below.

 

I want to wrestle him as we fall to the ground,

see who is strongest & who will submit.

I want to clamp my jaw on his neck so

he knows he’s mine.

 

Catching up to him is harder than I thought

 

He cranes his long neck to find me on his trail.

A faint smile sneaks across his angular face.

His narrow, purple eyes pull me towards him faster.

 

As he gapes his mouth, flames rush at me,

dancing enraged.

I have a second to alter my course

& evade the blackening of my brilliant scales.

 

The smoke hasn’t a moment to clear

before he swoops through it.

His silver chest emerges, dazzling.

 

He rips scars across my cheek with his talons.

Endorphins release like explosions.

It’s the fight I had fantasized.

 

We exchange blows & scratches,

flapping furiously to stay in flight.

My back left claw digs into the thick part of his tail.

He howls, swinging it wildly to shake me off.

 

There’s no way in hell I could ever let go.

 

He forgets about staying afloat when

he bites into my neck.

He likes the taste of my blood.

 

When you’re falling everything feels still.

Our minds clear & focused on our attacks,

 

we tumble in our descent.

The world spins around us--

we alternate who’s closest to the Earth.

 

I land on my back, winded.

He stands over me, on all fours,

glaring into my eyes.

 

It’s his amethyst orbs

that keep me locked

& staring back.

B

In a crusade against the magical, he was captured by humans. I was away when it happened, chasing down another dragon or a light snack. Nearly twelve of them must have been required to trap him under a net. They stabbed him repeatedly so that his punctured body bathed them in his ichor. I saw three of their scorched bodies in a clearing, the soil still bloodied. It made me glad to know that he had put up a fight. I saw them decapitate him & then douse his corpse in oil before they torched it. Dragon scales may blacken, but they’re too retardant to melt in flames. They mounted his hollowed head on a cathedral wall, using his throat & mouth as a spout. His eyes still glow.