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Jack Prelutsky Dragon Poems

jack_prelutsky_dragon

Dragon poems by Jack Prelutsky.

Named a U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation in 2006.

Header image by Peter Sis.

Poems:

  • A Dragon’s Lament
  • Once They All Believed In Dragons
  • The Dragons Are Singing Tonight
  • The Dragon of Death


Check out more dragon poems on the site.


A Dragon’s Lament

I’m tired of being a dragon,
Ferocious and brimming with flame,
The cause of unspeakable terror
When anyone mentions my name.
I’m bored with my bad reputation
For being a miserable brute,
And being routinely expected.
To brazenly pillage and loot.

I wish that I weren’t repulsive,
Despicable, ruthless and fierce,
With talons designed to dismember
And fangs finely fashioned to pierce.
I’ve lost my desire for doing
The deeds any dragon should do,
But since I can’t alter my nature,
I guess I’ll just terrify you.

~ © Jack Prelutsky


Once They All Believed In Dragons

Once they all believed in dragons
When the world was fresh and young,
We were woven into legends,
Tales were told and songs were sung,
We were treated with obeisance,
We were honored, we were feared,
Then one day they stopped believing–
On that day, we disappeared.
Now they say our time is over,
Now they say we’ve lived our last,
Now we’re treated with derision
Where once we ruled unsurpassed.
We must make them all remember,
In some way we must reveal
That our spirit lives forever–
We are dragons! We are real!

~ © Jack Prelutsky


The Dragons Are Singing Tonight

Tonight is the night all the dragons
Awake in their lairs underground,
To sing in cacophonous chorus
And fill the whole world with their sound.
They sing of the days of their glory,
They sing of their exploits of old,
Of maidens and Knights, and of fiery fights,
And guarding vast caches gold.
Some of their voices are treble,
And some of their voices are deep,
But all of their voices are thunderous,
And no one can get any sleep.
I lie in my bed and I listen,
Enchanted and filled with delight,
To songs I can hear only one night a year–
The dragons are singing tonight.

~ © Jack Prelutsky


The Dragon of Death

In a faraway, faraway forest
Lies a treasure of infinite worth.
But guarding it closely forever
Looms a being as old as the earth.

Its body’s as big as a boulder,
And armored with shimmering scales.
Even the mountain tops tremble when
It thrashes it’s seven great tails.

Its eyes tell a story of terror,
They gleam with an angry red flame
As it timelessly watches its riches.
And the Dragon of Death is it’s name.

Its teeth are far sharper than daggers.
It can tear hardest metal to shreds.
It has seven mouths filled with these weapons,
For it’s neck swells to seven great heads.

Each head is as fierce as the other,
Each head breathes a fiery breath.
And any it touches must perish,
Set ablaze by the Dragon of Death.

All who have foolishly stumbled
On the Dragon of Death’s golden cash
Remain evermore in that forest,
Nothing left of their bodies but ash.

~ © Jack Prelutsky

BIO: In 2006, the Poetry Foundation designated Jack Prelutsky as America’s first Children’s Poet Laureate.  He has published more than 70 poetry books. While Jack is best known for his imaginative and humorous verse, readers are now discovering how music is entwined with his poetry. Currently, Jack possibly appears more often on concert stages than bookstores or libraries.

WEBSITE: http://jackprelutsky.com


By Jess

Jess Chua is an award-winning writer and sketch artist. She's been the keeper of Dragonsinn since 1999. She works in the online writing/editing field and enjoys yoga, reading, and design. Shop our hand-drawn merch or join the newsletter to stay in touch with dragon news and original art updates.