Dragonslay Poem by Kevin Eaglesfield

Young knight is weary, battle scarred
And needs somewhere to pitch his camp,
But stops because he hears a sound,
And through the trees he spies a lamp.
He draws his long sword and dismounts
Advancing t'ward the yellow glow
And, crouching low behind a rock
Recognises dreaded foe.
The light is not a lamp at all,
But a dragon's fiery breath
Escaping from its cavern lair:
Now a fight til death.
The knight remounts and leaves sword drawn
And spurs his horse on to the cave.
The dragon hears, advances too
To meet headlong the charging brave.
With mighty roar, the beast lets fly
With flames that blister flesh and shield,
The man gets in a glancing blow
Determined not to yield.
He turns his steed and gallops on,
The dragon flames more gold and red,
The knight is caught full force and falls,
But, rising sees his horse is dead.
A fury wells up deep inside:
The battle now is personal.
Sir knight runs under wing and claw
And moves in close to strike the kill.
He thrusts his sword into its neck
And backs off to avoid the blood,
The dragon gives a strangled scream
And topples dying in the mud.
The path is clear, it lies extinct,
Its breath is gone, its eyes are wide.
Wounded, spent the man walks back
And takes his things from Charger's side,
Secures his weapons, pack and shield
Ignoring burns and inside pain.
A welcome drizzle starts to fall.
He continues in the rain.