the dragon embodies vice, the old priest said,
pride and avarice and wrath -
but to a downtrodden young girl,
trapped under a mask of a boy -
pride sounded not like a failing,
but instead a treasure forever out of her reach.
but, that girl was stronger than she knew,
and she grew stronger still, even through trial.
and through time, and friendship, and love,
she lit the dormant fire within -
sharpened her claws, ripped off the mask,
and finally, finally spread her wings.
her hoard may be small,
her horns still-growing stubs,
but, she is no less a wyrm,
and the world would hear her roar.
no more hiding
no more shame
no more shall she ever
wear that mask again
and as the wind fills her wings
and she takes to the sky
tears of joy streak down her scales
for at last, finally, she is
her true self.
and with every passing day
her horns grow a little, her scales harden,
slowly does coalesce the shape
of the great beast she truly is
and behind those slitted eyes
is a spark of pure unbridled joy
of finding now, a once-missing piece
of spreading wings never before unbound,
she stops feeling shame
for her growls and her desires,
for her roar
is not born from shame,
but a golden, pure-hearted
pride in who she is
and as her roar echoes wide
across these cable-wrought valleys,
other roars, and howls and meows
echo back in return,
some familiar, some new
all rooted in their own truths
in her newfound peace and pride
she finds she is far from alone
and together, a song is sung
of finding one's true voice
from such diversity, not a cacophony
but rather a moon-lit symphony
of connection, of relation
in realizing missing pieces
and together, these new-forged beasts
brighten the night with their voices
on a rainy night, curled in her lair
the dragon sheds a solitary tear
for a girl, long ago
a hatchling unaware of her wings
beneath a mask that girl lived
denied herself, denied her truth
if only the dragon could travel time
to remove that mask, ease that pain
to tell the girl - "no, you aren't broken
you're beautiful, you're strong,
that pain won't be forever
that mask, it's days are numbered
one day, sooner than you think
you will light your flame and spread your wings
just like I did
because I'm you"
