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Stories / Stories / Paul J. Doyle / Text 4 of 13 / futuristic dragon´s lament

"futuristic dragon´s lament" by Paul J. Doyle

SF&F Picture 4 out of 13 by Paul J. Doyle

This is a poem about a dragon who's long since survived the Dark Ages, and has since become a sophisticated galaxy-roaming spaceship builder. He relaxes on one of his ships, thinking of the wonders of technology and the incredible, legitimate wealth it has brought dragonkind. And yet, he misses the old days of sword and sorcery . . . not as intense as 'Classic Dragon's Lament', but still a little moody. This dragon's world is very loosely based on the one in the novels I'm writing, but is fully distinguishable. Enjoy!

“FUTURISTIC DRAGON’S LAMENT”

By Paul J. Doyle

With tooth, nail and technology the dragons live on!

Peace and cooperation with humans has lit a new dawn!

Boldly striving together, to the furthest frontier,

The benefits of joining forces has proven so clear

Dragon tech-savvy intellect outmoding dragon brawn!

The space race is done, and we guide the rimships afar

Stocked with travelers bored to tears by Barnard’s Star

We navigate the wormholes like gentle sea eddies

Centuries become days; when are we not steady?

Idly, I look at my plated chest and see sword scars.

What does it mean to be a dragon in this enlightened age?

Magic has no bearing, and lasers are all the rage

Teeth, claws and fiery breath are of little use at all

Without wing covers and energy fields we’d be mauled.

Dragonkind would be on evolution’s previous page!

Telepathically guided defense missiles to fight back!

Reconstituted soy “beef” is my space going snack!

I don’t just travel on a vessel; I built the starship.

Plenty of room to stretch my wings and do a zero-g flip

Even a full dragon gym so the muscles don’t slack!

Cygnus X-1 and planetary nebulae are so stunning

Technological innovations: the new dragon cunning

Without dragon science humans would still use rockets

Their vast purchasing power has filled our pockets

They’re happy; no thin hull breaches; everything’s running.

Dragon owned human companies bring us much treasure!

We’re hugely wealthy beyond any old measure!

We’ve terraformed fifteen dead iron-rich worlds!

Dragons in livable alien skies, wings unfurled.

But still . . . whatever happened to that old primal pleasure?

←- “NO REST FOR THE DEAD, WICKED PHARAOH” | A Humpty Dumpty Christmas! -→

Date	Name	Comment
30 Jun 2003	Donna Quinn	Loading... I think this Dragon's plight probably accurately sums up what many wild animals today are thinking as we humans encroach further into their space. Another limerick! Kudos for you, the second fantasy limerick I've read ever (as far as I can remember). "Evolution's previous page" was clever phrasing, I enjoyed that line. The juxtoposition of a Dragon in a space-age setting is quite startling and unexpected also. Very good poetry Paul; I'm glad to finally be able to read your work, and I'm enjoying what I'm reading! Paul J. Doyle replies: "I have to admit this dragon is a LOT closer to the kind of dragons seen in my novel than in the other poem. They're extremely powerful, yet so vulnerable, and have a love-hate relationship with the humans who share their world. The only thing I really changed is that while this spacegoing dragon might work up the desire to eat humans, in my novel (and those yet to be written) humans contain toxins that are dangerously poisonous to dragons. Humans, however, find dragon flesh extremely tasty, rather like chicken (what doesn't taste like chicken) but so much more agreeable to the tastebuds . . .Anyway, if dragons are such smart cookies, surely they would have found a way to out-think and manipulate humans in a totally different fashion! Thanks again, Donna. I am very happy you've found the time to stop by."
27 Jul 2003	Leigh Shwin Erickson	Loading... dances around leaving another comment lah dee dah! This was very insightful I must say... again, there was a little rhyme thing, but most were very good nods Wonderful idea.. again... again ignore that it says writer beside... or above my name... yep... OK... you get the idea... I like it! Paul J. Doyle replies: "Thanks again for commenting! This poem is one of the occasional I'll do; Yeats or Keats I'm not. The occasional foray in briefness does wonders sometimes, curing rambling tangents in longer work. Again, I'm happy you liked it! I'll be by your page when I can get to it."
2 Aug 2003	Elizabeth K. Cook	Loading... Oh! I like this one too! I can honestly say this is the first poem aboutspace travelling dragons I have read in my long life of fourteen years. Ok, maybe not that long, but long enough. Very original idea, my favorite line was this "Magic has no bearing, and lasers are all the rage..." That just cracked me up for some odd reason. Good job! Paul J. Doyle replies: "Thanks for commenting! If you've ever seen Ghidorah in a Godzilla movie you've seen a space going dragon . . . okay, it's not the same thing! There are a lot of SF dragons out there, and not just in Pern books and RPGs. This poem is an indirect reference to the novel sequence I'm working on, although my dragons don't eat humans since they're poisonous to dragon stomachs . . . thank you for commenting! If you don't mind, I've bookmarked your page and will come by when I can to comment. Thanks!"
6 Aug 2003	J (Proudfoot) Taylor	Loading... Again, nice rhyme and rhythm. I dont' like this one as much as the "classical", but I really like the concept. Paul J. Doyle replies: " Hello! I am the Proselytizing Professor. Welcome to my humble residence. Progressive concepts are meant to be analyzed, yet not truly appreciated, by the larger audience. Rather like heavy metal in a minor key with 17/59 time signature."
30 Aug 2003	Erin Redshaw	Loading... I don't think I could ever eat a dragon, even if it DID taste like chicken (quoting "The Matrix" "maybe they couldn't figure out what to make chicken taste like, which is why chicken tastes like everything...")...they're just too beautiful to eat! It would be like eating a stained-glass window...aside from the fact that stained-windows, to the best of my knowledge, do not taste like chicken, and can't be good for the digestive system. Paul J. Doyle replies: "Yes; but Big Macs do not taste like chicken. They are very bad for the digestive system. But they're sooooooooo good! My dragons' flesh tastes best sauteed, stir fried, or baked. A good example of a dragon dish is dragon tail meat mixed with marinara sauce mixed with a dark red wine, then served over a bed of home-made, hand rolled pasta. Magnifico!I'm just kidding, of course . . . "
30 Aug 2003	Erin Redshaw	Loading... Whee! More dragonyness!!!!!! I love the idea of a futuristic dragon, usually they are only associated with medieval times and stuff like that. This is way cool! Waves dragon flag Go Dragons! Wheehooo!! ~Erin~ Paul J. Doyle replies: "Thanks! This particular draggie is one from my novel's universe, where dragon intelligence (along with dragon idleness) has resulted in technology many centuries ahead of our own. It's a long story, of course . . ."
27 Nov 2003	Isabelle Apel	Loading... Mm. Dragon in space. So queer o_O. Can't say I like space much < but, y'know, it goes well with my dad's theory that Dragons are aliens from outer space XD (seriously, I'm not kidding you! XD). Anyway, yeah. Not quite my cup of tea < but I must say that I like your style. =D Paul J. Doyle replies: "I tend to agree with your dad . . . sometimes I'm tempted to say that I'm a dragon trapped in the body of a human, but I've no plans to make a fursuit or give myself a fancified "furry" name . . . well, dragons in space isn't everyone's cup of tea, but think of Ghidorah the three-headed draggie from all those Godzilla flicks . . . all of my Doyle Dragons you have seen on my Elftown pages are from the present time, but from a world far more advanced than ours. Dragons provided the technology for spacegoing vehicles, and humands built them. How's that for queerness? LOLI don't think it's queer "
25 Apr 2008	Diane (Grandamelf) Reed	Loading... Hello Paul, I think this is so cool! (an almost antiqated word) Who knows how many anthrodragons are about in our modern world!

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About 'futuristic dragon's lament':

• Status: OK
• Created by:

Paul J. Doyle
• Copyright: ©Paul J. Doyle. All rights reserved!

• Keywords: Rimships, Wormholes, Dragons, Cygnus, X-1, Planetary, Nebulae, Science, Treasure, Pleasure, Terraforming, Interspecies, Cooperation, Peace, Prosperity, Boredom
• Categories: Dragons, Drakes, Wyverns, etc, Fights, Duels, Battles, Spaceships, Ships, Bessels, Transportation..., Techno, Cyber, Technological
• Views: 413

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