Castle Of Epiphany

Through the clouds of Candlewood, ancient castles appear.
Locked in a balance of imperfection, they reach to a heavenly sky.
I grab my sword without sway and head toward the celestial gates.

The Castle of Epiphany stands the largest amongst the crowd.
Its entrance blocked by the great Dragon of Saigon.
Its scales impasse the Forever Door of what is real and perception.

I gather my wits and stare down the beast's haunting eyes locked on mine.
Blue fanged, it leaps toward my cloak and I pull my sword--it’s cold and swift.
The first stab buries deep into the Dragon's breast and air gasps from the wound.

Beholding the great beast, it severs my soul from my heart.
He pulls the desire and dismantles the mind.
Fear grips my innards as the breath rips from my chest.

I have seen his power before, crushed in the warriors before me.
The beast rides a crescent moon and splinters the night.
Who has survived the magical lizard’s scaly touch?

“None”, it is said and all who have said it are dead--
pulled to his whispering tongue longing for delight.
He is the one that stands alone awaiting the steeling challenge.

I push my sword deeper into his chest as he rails and brays.
His mouth fastens at me and his head lunges at my throat.
I remove my sword only to return it over and over again.

The red, the crimson, covers my hands in reptile ooze.
His eyes roll back into a hollow, yellow hole,
soulless, forgotten, never to blink again.

A treasure awaits me inside of Epiphany--gold to last for ages.
I open the draw door back and wander into the dwelling.
It is empty, cold and dark. A dragon protecting nothing?

Find more by Joseph St. John in the Author Index

Comment on this story in the Aphelion Forum

Return to Aphelion's Index page.