The Promise

The Promise

Daganth the Warrior soared the skies,
his heart filled with sorrows;
he had foreseen his kind’s demise:
a night with no tomorrows.

The same dream haunted every night:
the end of dragon-kind.
When he awoke, gasping in fright,
he could not clear his mind.

He was the leader of his clan,
his scales glistened with age,
and still he feared the spread of man.
The thought filled him with rage.

“Mere worms mired in sea and earth,”
with disdain did he spew
ignoring the sparse dragon’s birth
of which there were too few.

Tharos the Giver was his mate;
she begged him to control
for more than violence, it was hate
she feared would cost his soul.

“Go to the sacred peaks,” she said,
“consult the ancient sage.
Collect the wisdom of the dead
that’s stood the test of age.”

The Oracle of Dragon’s Keep
could only speak the truth.
His vision caused Daganth to weep -
no future for the youth.

Though blind, he parted time’s thin mist
and saw what yet could be.
Dragons and man could co-exist
but when? He couldn’t see.

A plan devised: Daganth’s first born
was concealed in the keep.
With love ‘twas blessed, this child unborn,
and hidden, dark and deep.

The child would remain safe until
a magical “someday,”
‘Til man and dragon ceased to kill
protected it would stay.

The rule of dragons is no more;
a faded memory,
a legend from the days of yore -
not even history.

Through sacred mountains, winds yet blow
awaiting the release
from promises made long ago
that mankind would learn peace …

If mankind could learn peace.

An entry for "DreamTime Dragon's Poem Contest" 
Prompt: Image (see cover art)
Line Limit: None
Line Count: 49