After Paolo Uccello’s “St. George and The Dragon”

Alas, he as arrived:

the knight in tarnished armor!

His rusted sword stained like brick is

as sharp as the curve of his tongue and

untouched

unlike his virgin bride.

See how his head

once erect on his shoulders

now leans like a tree full of ripened fruits

lazily over my mane that flows

like icy cascades over jagged rocks.

What a fool,

thinking he is the true hero,

the true knight unearthing the patch of darkness.

The one whose sword could penetrate

the evil that threatens his ladylove

whose skin resembles rose petals

in a deep thorn bush.

However,

Just as every love story spins a happy ending,

as every book cover is shut for the night,

as every dragon’s life turns to darkness like the cave they crawl from,

I will have mine as well.

Every dragon hides its secrets between its scales

Every fair lady locks more away than her chastity beneath her slip

Every horse covers their true intentions under cascades of white and encrusted beneath jewels         parading around like an accessory,

not a companion

not a hero.

We will all have our day,

even the knight in tarnished armor!

Today is his lucky day,

we will have a feast in his honor,

and I hope he knows how delicious he will taste.