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About this Poem: This Fantasy themed poem tells the story of a group of knights who battle a dragon. Each knight except one has a sinister flaw, and the poem describes how only the pure of heart can succeed. Written in 1997.

A king once ordered four of his faithful men

To destroy the Yorks in their castle at Port Fen

The strong, sly soldiers of the sword

Showed no sorrow, obeying their lord.

They traveled myriad moonlit nights,

Envisioning the wanton dragon and its might;

They knew that a fair maiden's life was in danger,

And that their noble honor ushered them to save her.

They journeyed through the colorful, comely countryside,

Riding their strong, sleek steeds, like the crest of a tide.

They cantered toward the colossal castle where the serpent dwelled,

And where they would wield their might so that all would be felled.

The bold, intrepid soldiers had reached the castle's moat;

All that remained was victory and a toast,

For they knew that their triumph would be fair,

And that the right to revel would also be theirs.

The gaping cave loomed before them, in the red sunset light:

The place where the heinous dragon would wield its might,

Causing those confronting them, at this horrific site,

To flee in a flurry, as they were filled with fantastic fright.

The skillful soldiers stood in a ring,

And chose the one to please their potent king.

First to enter was the king's rapacious son,

Who fought unjustly, and always won.

The king's loyal subjects silently waited on the path

For Henry to quench their foes' flagrant wrath.

Henry quickly embarked on a journey to death;

His vile deeds of the past had led to his final breath.

Louis, the king's only brother, then decided to enter;

He had buried alive his benevolent mother,

Pleading that the devil was the cause;

His high birth saw him past the laws.

Entering the damp, musky tunnel, he gazed all around,

And was greeted by the beast, who killed without a sound.

Soon thereafter, the third knight did intrude;

This raunchy fiend was blatantly lewd.

Soon because of his ill and perfidious decorum,

Alex advanced to hell, the place he’d risen from.

The fourth knight remained, standing nearby;

This gold hearted warrior would never lie.

She entered the domicile of his foe,

And fought the mighty brute without woe.

This honorable hero of his king's realm

Had saved the young maiden from imminent hell.

The glorious gladiator, who had saved all with no dismay,

Cheered out loud and then scrupulously prayed,

'O God, I thank you for such a fine fate,

And because the vile heathen no longer dictate.'

Next she strode, upward to the dragon’s cursed cell;

Following the fleeing beast, or so the tale tells.

And for the world to see, she killed the creature of legend,

With a deadly strike it soon came to its end.

Tears fervently rolled down the damned dragon's face,

And never again was the dragon’s den devoid of love and grace.