The Dragons Daughters

This piece is partly inspired by astrology. In Chinese astrology my dad is year of the Water Dragon and my mom is year of the Wood Sheep. In Western astrology my sister is a Sagittarius which is an Archer - a fire sign, and I am an Aries which is a Ram - also a fire sign. Aries is the beginning of the Western zodiac.

The Dragon’s Daughters

by Amy Frank

Our Father is a Dragon.

Our Mother is a Lamb.

Our Father lives up to his Dragon breed:

Revered,

Generous,

Courageous —

Grand.

Being raised by a Dragon

doesn’t leave one unscathed —

A child learns quickly

that water puts out flames. 

…One day the Archer went away.

Her wings had grown and she couldn’t stay.

She flew off to find the Shire, they say,

while in Mordor I remained.

***

I grew up there, in the dark,

alone in the pitch black depths.

It’s in the shallow waters now

where I struggle to catch my breath.

The Archer left and my little flame

flickered into view,

Now placed into the spotlight

of a Dragon’s spew.

…It didn’t take long until I left too.

Back then a prison was all I knew.

I thought it was a Dragon, 

and parts of that are true.

But really the prison was inside me

It was everywhere I went.

The darkness clawed at my psyche—

A constant argument.

***

It doesn’t matter where I go

When I don’t fit in, it always shows.

When my emotions induce hurricanes,

a traumatized society deems me insane.

They never looked beneath the sea.

They fed me stories about chemistry.

They filled my body with toxicity.

Rarely asking what happened to me…

They offered me a world with no control

They took my power and gave me pills.

No one knew this. It’s not their fault.

People can’t know 

what they were never taught.

I also know that what will be, will be

And that every step I’ve taken

is part of the journey.

That being said, there is room 

to grow.

If Western and Holistic merged

We’d heal people, you know.

***

When the Archer returned, I was gone

Lost in my psyche, I was withdrawn.

I watched her cry when she saw the harm

Like a bird that plucks — 

I had featherless arms.

Darkness,

Darkness,

For so, so long….

A constant battle 

of right and wrong.

But here I am now, free of the cage

I’m still inside it,…

but the bars did fade.

I’m learning how to take control

To be the Author of my world.

Meditation really helps.

Stop. Breathe. 

Ground yourself.

***

Our Dragon dad has a fearsome roar

His currents have dragged us along

the ocean floor.

Dark and deep in the depths of the sea

The grinding has polished her and me.

I am grateful for this shaping

for this dulling of my edges

I was sharp when in the dark,

the grinding made me better.

***

My Sister is made of purple sea glass, 

washed onto the shore.

She lives along the beaches

where it’s light and warm.

I live where I still see the light 

Within the Midwater Zone —

The darkness is close by

but I was given a light of my own:

Bioluminescence 

granted me with sight

The depths are filled with toothy beasts

but I have no fright.

I am one of them, you see

I can’t breathe in the shallow end.

The toothy beasts that live near me

are my closest, most cherished friends.

My sister and I have an inseparable bond

even when we’re dragged apart.

We have Dragons in our blood

and Lambs within our hearts.

To she and our parents 

I have this to say:

We’ve really come a long, long way

I am here now and I’m okay.

I have light inside to find my way.

A glow within that won’t decay. 

It is I who tend this delicate flame.

It’s mine to protect.

It’s mine to tame.

***

The Dragon’s Daughters

are resilient and brave

Gentle like Lambs

Dynamic like waves.

My Father is a Dragon

My Mother is a Lamb

My Sister is an Archer 

I start things — I’m the Ram.