Out there is a land, the legends tell,
Where mighty dragons reign and dwell,
A land so faithfully disguised
That no humans laid on it their eyes.

Drachonia, the legends say,
The land where dragons fly and play,
Was governed by the dragons’ king,
Mordwywr, the one with the golden wing.

King Mordwywr, the legends declare,
Had a son who was to be his heir.
Kendric, as expected from a child,
Was untamed, rambunctious, and quite wild.

There came the time, the legends made known,
When Kendric was to assume the throne.
But the child deemed himself not prepared
For the task to come, and he was scared.

The day was set, the legends proclaim,
When Kendrick was asked to throw a flame
To prove he was worth to be the king
And receive the gold to grace his wing.

Disgrace arose, the legends attest,
Because Kendric did not pass the test.
He spit and spit but to no avail.
No flame came, and, sadly, he did fail.

All the dragons, the legends reveal,
Were screaming and shouting a great deal.
This child is not set to be a man,
Not fit to govern the dragons’ land.

So Kendric, the legends give away,
Was forced to leave, not allowed to stay.
They pushed him out with no bread or pie
Into the forest where he would die.

Filled with sadness, the legends assert,
Kendric thought of death, ‘cause he felt hurt.
Dragons live forever, or so he thought,
But for him that did not mean a lot.

His innocence lost, the legends say,
Never again would he fly or play.
Scaring pirates and chasing clouds
Was for the past, there were no doubts.

Happiness returned, the legends state,
When Kendric was asked to be a mate
For children who got lost in a dream,
To dish out good cheer with whipping cream.

Chasing pirates, the legends avow,
And scaring clouds still happens now
In the youthful land of Llangollen
Where the mighty Kendric does the ruling.

Childlike silliness, the legends tell,
Will not only do for children well.
Stay young at mind, and you won’t grow old,
Because that was what the legends told.

"Painted Wings and Giants' Rings" by Wilfried F. Voss has now been released on Amazon Kindle. For more information see New on Kindle: Painted Wings and Giants' Rings, About the Loss of Innocence