A Dragon at the Door

Outside the door

there sounded a tremendous roar.

The Livingstons looked around

and asked each other, “What was that sound.”

 

“A plane?” asked Dad.

“A train?” guessed Mom.

“A dragon!” shouted Judy,

and ran out on the lawn.

 

Signs of something in the yard

but figuring out what, that was hard.

The Livingstons all made a guess,

asking each other, “What could cause this mess?”

 

“Lightning?” pondered Mom.

“Giants fighting?” suspected Dad.

“It’s a dragon,” calmly stated Judy.

‘But don’t worry. She’s not bad.’

 

They saw the damage that had been done

and realized cleaning it would be no fun.

Still the mystery remained open.

What could cause all this commotion.

 

Dad hypothesized, “Maybe a fire?”

Mom suggested, “A monster truck tire?”

But Judy simply said, “Look here and there.

It is surely a dragon. The signs are everywhere.”

 

When they circled round the house,

sneaking as quietly as a mouse,

they came upon such a sight

that made the parents nearly die of fright.

 

Judy yelled, “A Dragon.”

 

Dad exclaimed, “It must be the heat.”

Mom admitted, “This has got me beat.”

Then Judy attempted an incredible feat.

She fed the dragon.

 

The dragon was hungry.

She ate more and more.

Cheeseburgers, hot dogs, pizza galore.

Cupcakes. salad, watermelons, she ate four.

Lemonade, rhubarb, the lasagne from Ms. Gore.

Pineapples, cookies, and sandwiches from the store.

Strawberries, durian, even leg of a Boar.

She finished a meal that would go down in lore

Even licking peanut butter up off the floor.

 

She ate the house bare

leaving nothing to spare

except an old onion

which had rolled under a chair.

When the dragon finished

she smiled and sighed deep,

licked Judy on the face

and gave her a scale before falling asleep.

 

Mom demanded, “We must get her out of the yard.”

Dad cried, “Call in the national guard.”

But Judy took them both by the hand

and tried to help them understand.

 

“This dragon is beautiful, powerful and free

but she needs a home just like you and me.

We give her a home and a place to snore

and what we receive in return is even more.”

 

Love

 

Dad looked at mom

Mom looked at dad.

Both understood

What a great daughter they had.

 

They both hugged their daughter

and cuddled in tight.

Huddled up with their new family

to sleep through the night.

 

For dinner one night the Livingstons had guests

everyone was cleaned up and sharply dressed.

Then from the yard came an awful sound

like the whole sky had suddenly crashed to the ground.

 

Mr. Green screamed, “Asteroids.”

Mrs. Green imagined, “Giant rabbits on steroids?”

But the Livingstons laughed and started to kid.

Answering the way that they always did.

 

It’s a dragon. And we love her.

 

The end.

AUTHOR

Michael Harper

Michael Harper is a MFA candidate at the University of Idaho. Previously he taught kindergarten