Aphelion Issue 301, Volume 28
December 2024 / January 2025
 
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Elder Gifts

by Teri Wachowiak


When thread falls from the heavens
And danger it would bring,
The dragons leap all skyward
And trumpeting, they sing.

A race of strength and beauty
To a world they are protection
The bond ‘tween beast and rider
Is our colony’s salvation.

From history’s early dawning,
From the loneliness of space,
Came people, questing onward,
The best of all Earth’s race.

A gift for all their children,
Their labors of mutation,
The bond ‘tween beast and rider
To be a colony’s salvation.

From early years, through history,
The best of beast and men,
Continue the tradition,
To build up Pern again.

While knowledge sometimes faltered,
The rider – beast relation
The bond between beast and rider
Was our colony’s salvation.

Thread falls from the Red Star,
To be met by dragon men,
Bright wings of dragon riders
Char thread with dragon kin.

The triumph of our elders
The dragon beast’s creation
The bond ‘tween beast and rider
Is our colony’s salvation.


© 2003 Teri Wachowiak

Find more by Teri Wachowiak in the Author Index.

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