The New Arrival (A 24 Hour Short Story with Poem)
The air hangs heavy with its putrid sick
Its shrieking cry turns blood cold
Its glittering treasure greater than gold
But mountains of offerings stacked wall to wall
Cannot suppress my hungry dragon’s call!
People forget how to talk when they look in its eyes
Its face of red is balled up rage
The little pet dragon mum keeps in a cage
She got it as an egg and like birds in a nest
My mum kept it warm tucked up her vest!
It hasn’t got fangs yet and drinks from a bottle
But its angry red fists are tipped in tiny claws
It curdles blood with its demanding roars
The smell of sour milk and rotten death
The acid it spits is worse than fire breath!
That’s really my pet dragon, not the new baby!
Sophie walked out of the school doors, scuffing her feet in irritation. She held her rejected homework against her chest, her face growing red as she thought about what Miss Greenbank had said. Her Nanny waited at the gates, stomping her feet in the January cold.
"What's up muffin?"
"I have to do my homework again!"
They began to stroll along the crisp pavement as they talked.
"That's ok, I'm sure Granddad'll help you, was it the maths?"
"Not even! She didn't believe about me about mum coming back from the hot spottle with a dragon!"
Her Nanny laughed, putting her arm on Sophie's shoulder,
"He sure does roar like one!"
I had so much fun writing the poem for this, I nearly entered just that, but I was worried it may get disqualified for not being a proper story, and only fulfilling the prompt once you realised it was from the misguided perspective of a young child, mistaking cradle cap for scales and connecting all the wrong dots. I am not sure if it takes away from the poem overall but I feel safer with it in. It was so much fun to write, hearkening back to my love of Brian Patten as a child. Let me know if you think I should have added the story part, or gone with my gut and just entered the poem.
This is my entry to @mctiller 's regular #twentyfourhourshortstory contest - check out the latest round where the prompt is: A little boy or girl constantly insists that they really have a pet dragon.
Photo Credit - Another one I poorly photoshopped! The Dragon and Crib are both from pixabay.
Thank you for stopping by
Love and Sparkle ~ Calluna
The little pet dragon mum keeps in a cage.....Loved it! And I wouldn’t have realized you shopped the photo, a perfect fit to what you’ve created.
Oh good story to, great child’s perspective.
That was one of my favourite lines <3 I was in a hurry and didn't get the bars quite as straight as they could have been, but I just couldn't find anything right and I do kinda enjoy trying to make something. Thank you :)
I love the picture, it's perfect.
I like the story, it's really cute, so it's hard to say whether it's better with or without.
Thank you, I just couldnt find anything vaguely right so had to cobble something together, bit wobbly but glad it works :)
As a poem, I am not sure it needs the story, but the more I think about it the more I feel it needs it to fulfil the criteria. Still not sure if I would just use the poem alone or with it if I ever did print the odd vanity book lol
Yeah, the poem can definitely stand on its own.
And there's nothing to say a poem's not a story (back in the day a hell of a lot of the stories were in poetry form) but I can see where a poem might feel odd in a contest dedicated to Harlan Ellison.
Funny. Cute dragon. It's like a haibun. Well done!
Thank you :) I hadn't even heard of a haibun but I can totally see it! <3
Oh... I love love love this.
I am on my bed, and it's five something a.m., and the network for the first time in a few days is surprisingly okay. And this, this is just a wonderful storied poetry to wake up to.
Okay, I'm sending in bits so the network doesn't run away before I at least say something... Because I have to.
This is funny, and the story/prose addition was spot on. It was definitely better with it. Looks like we went similar way again. What are the chances eh? Smiles
And I am only just reading this. Bad network has made it a nightmare to post, so reading other posts and making//replying comments has been difficult to do recently.
But this is superb. And the photo? I know for a fact you're better at Photoshop than me. Matter of fact, I dunno how to use it. Shhhhh, don't shout.
Can't use photoshop, he says, with a wonderfully put together profile picture :p
Thank you so much, I wasn't sure how much of a gamble it would be but I rarely get struck with a childish poem like this and really wanted to use it. Jeez how do you keep up with a dodgy connection? I struggled without having any excuse!
Oh, that profile pic? Lol. That's photogrid I think. The phone app. Photoshop is way more complex I would like to think. Lol...
And the dodgy connection, phew! What can I say? It's currently 9.10 pm, and I'm standing outside the gate on a very dark and lonely express way. It's the only way these web pages would open where I am. I would rather be prepping for a good sleep, but hey, who would reply all calluna's messages? Lol.
And oh, my favorite part of it all?
The hot spottle
When I eventually decoded what it meant, I laughed so loud that I had to force myself to stop. It was then I understood the whole story. Funny, and superb.
Oh yey! It really entertained me when I wrote it, but I wasn't sure how it would carry out of my head <3
Thank you! And thank you so much for the note on including the story, I think I will keep them together then :)