The Dragon of Femwick's Marsh

44 line poem written at the age of 16 in 1968

Dead Is The Dragon

The Dragon from Femwick's Marsh

The Dragon of scales scarlet

The Dragon of hisses harsh.

Dead is the Dragon

The Dragon of Burning Breath,

The Dragon of Flashing Eyes,

The Dragon of scourgining breath and death. 

Dead is the Dragon!

The Woodlands are singing,

The Dragon, the Serpent of Dread Murdered.

The Pastures are ringing.

Dead is the Dragon

But Freed are his slayers

The Serpent of Dread now of Femwicks Marsh

Held once leashed and imprisoned

By the Scaled Scarlet Fenwick Dragon.

Dead is the Dragon.

The Serpent of Dread, Now Sing and Sing,

The Woodlands we serpents poison

The Pastures we slay,

So the Serpents of Dread Say and Say.

Dead is the Dragon.

The Serpents of Dread do assail

"The Dragons they Fell"

So the Woodlands wail. 

Dead is the Dragon

The Woodlands are crying

The Serpents of Dread come in attack

The Pastures are dying dying. 

Dead is the Dragon

The Pastures are scarred

The Serpents of Dread have near all starved

Even the Woodlands are charred. 

Dead is the Dragon

Dead-is?-the-D r a g o n?

The chants now falter

Alack, Alack the Dragons have come back! 

Alack!  Alack!

The Dragon has Risen

He tricked the Serpents of Dread

And Used Dragon Rune Magic

To resurrect himself and come back from the dead! 

Alack, Alack You Serpent of Dread

The Great Dragon of Femwicks Marsh

Soars grandly great sparrowing wings

And no doubt the great dragon of Femwicks Marsh

Will Hunt you slinking serpents of Dread

To Final Extermination

And Total Total Extinction. 

Composed October 22, 1968

Belleville, Illinois

Raymond Lee Collins

RaymondoftheWoods

Age 16

copyright reserved by the publisher

Carol A Wells

Author's Note

posted posthumously by authors relative in loving memory

Reviews

[Ken e Bujold]

one must ask: did he continue to write in later years? because this in light of the age stated is beyond my imagination. I couldn't/didn't write anything this well until well into my 20s. I have read all the works you have posted in his memory and I am both thrilled and saddened that such talent is only coming to light now, when it is too late to know the creator of such beautiful works

ken

[RaymondoftheWoods]

Hi Ken thank you for your kind words about Raymonds writing....yes most of his poems he wrote in high school and college with a few others later in life but mostly he turned to short stories....I'll be posting about 50 of his poems before tackling all his short stories......I wish you well in your writing career and encourage you to continue to write what you love. carol

[Ken e Bujold]

thanks carol and i look forward to reading more of Raymond's work. as for writing, I have been at it for pleasure and as a career for close to 40 yrs. It is my nature