Tags
The amazing Brian Andreas
Beware, poet warriors! Here there be dragons!
De Jackson here, aka WhimsyGizmo, and it’s time again for my all-time favorite poetry prompt, the Quadrille. Got your pen-swords ready? It’s time to write those pocket-sized poems of just 44 words, not counting the title, and including one word we provide. And today, I’d like you to wrangle a dragon into your piece.
Head straight for the castle with this one, or meander around the garden (see those snapdragons?) Take a luscious, tropical bite of dragon fruit. Set the sky ablaze with your word-scales, or tame your dragon softly. Slay your dragon, or befriend her. Give your poem some magic and mystery, or maybe just a sleepy cave full of fun words.
Want to make it a verb? Think:
oh, how the day does drag
-on.
Or maybe you’re draggin’ your feet about it. That’s okay, too. If you’ve been around awhile, you know the only real Quadrille rules are a poem of exactly 44 words (not counting the title), and including some form of the word we provide. So release those dragons and get ready for a poem adventure.
New to the Q? Here’s what to do:
Just pen us a poem of precisely 44 words, not counting the title, and using some form of the word dragon. Then drag your cursor on over to visit some of the fieriest poets on the ’net. And as the week drags on, we’re not done yet! The Quadrille prompt is up all week, and multiple posts (perhaps two-headed beasties?) are welcome. And hey, drop us a hello in the comments below. Maybe let me know who’s your favorite dragon? (Game of Thrones? Tolkien? Rowling? Or maybe Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon?)
Are you a Believer? I’ll leave you with some Imagine Dragons, for inspiration.
whimsygizmo said:
Greetings, intrepid poets! Are you ready for your poem adventures? I’m pouring dragonfruit daiquiris (virgin and otherwise), and can’t wait to read your fiery words. Happy poeming!
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
Ha… dragonfruit sounds like a blaze.
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
Hello… had a bit of problem to come up with a good idea, but as usually I tried to play around opposites… in my case dragon and mice.
whimsygizmo said:
Fun, B! Can’t wait to read it!
robtkistner said:
Thanks for hosting De. Gonna get out my dragon scale pen and scratch sumpin’ out!
whimsygizmo said:
Looking forward to it, Rob. My pleasure!
kim881 said:
Good evening poets and thank you De for hosting. I wrote a poem a while ago about Dragon Hall in Norwich, which is the centre of writing; in England we have the legend of George and the dragon; and in our garden we have dragonflies and, occasionally, snapdragons. There seem to be dragons everywhere!
whimsygizmo said:
Ohhhhh! How could I have forgotten about dragonflies? Wonderful!
kim881 said:
🙂
msjadeli said:
Hi De and All. I *love* all dragons, the good, the bad, and the ugly ones. I love that clip which looks like a spinoff from Creed II, where Dragos’ son is facing Creed’s son.
whimsygizmo said:
I love dragons, too! So glad you’re here!
Jonathan Caswell said:
SLAY YOUR DRAGON—-BE A MAN OR WOMAN OF TRUE VALOR!
whimsygizmo said:
Sometimes, I find, befriending the dragon is better. 😉
Jonathan Caswell said:
Oh yeah….especially if he or she lives close by!
Jonathan Caswell said:
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
YE BE DRAGGIN’ OUT OF BED SLOWLY? EH?
whimsygizmo said:
Fun! 🙂
sarahsouthwest said:
Does anybody NOT love a dragon? Great prompt, De, thank you!
whimsygizmo said:
You’re so welcome, Sarah. Selfish, really. I LOVE dragons, and turn to them anytime my muse seems to be draggin’…which seems to be the case since April’s poem-a-thon. 😉
kim881 said:
Does anyone know ‘A Small Dragon’ by Brian Patten? I used to use it when I was still teaching. Here’s a link: https://www.poetryarchive.org/poem/small-dragon
whimsygizmo said:
I LOVE this, Kim. Thank you!
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
A second one was needed before bedtime
whimsygizmo said:
Love the double-dipping, Bjorn! 🙂
Waltermarks said:
Hey De! I’m glad for a chance to escape the sweatshop and play, Hooray!!!
whimsygizmo said:
So glad you’re here, Walter!
Waltermarks said:
Me too!, 😅
Charmed Chaos said:
Hello De! Excellent Prompt! Thank you for hosting.
whimsygizmo said:
Happy you found some inspiration here. 🙂
m.j.smith said:
Good prompt. Tapped some memories.
whimsygizmo said:
So happy you found some inspiration here, m.j.!
whimsygizmo said:
m.j., I am having trouble with your link. Looking for an old one on other posts from your blog, to find my way to you. If you see this before I’m successful, please feel free to link up again with the correct link, and I’ll remove the old one. 🙂 Thanks. de
calmkate said:
Great prompt thanks De, I had a pet dragon in my garden … just relocated so gotta check if he followed me 🙂
De Miller Jackson said:
Oh, YES! LOVE this, kate. And I’m sure he followed you! They have excellent senses!
calmkate said:
yes unlike us sheeple De 🙂
Mary (tqhousecat) said:
Since I grew up in the 60’s of course Puff is my favorite, even though the meaning does get lost in the translations. But the 60’s did start many a labyrinth.
De Miller Jackson said:
Yes! I loved that Puff guy, too! And Pete’s Dragon was another fave! Waaaaay before its time on the cartoon+live action concept. 🙂
Frank J. Tassone said:
Good Evening, Poets! Thanks, De Jackson, for the compelling prompt! 🙂
De Miller Jackson said:
Hi, Frank! So glad you’re here, and that you found some inspiration!
Truedessa said:
Good Evening, Dragons are the magic word of the night. May all our poems take flight.
De Miller Jackson said:
Well, that’s a poem in and of itself, Truedessa. So glad you’re here!
Anna said:
Wonderful prompt! It made me revisit two old poems in a series (one with a subtitle here be dragons . . . and both written for dVerse prompts) with an eye to rewriting them into one tiny monster of a poem. Thank you!
De Miller Jackson said:
“one tiny monster of a poem” DELIGHTS me to no end, Anna. There’s a great title, already!
merrildsmith said:
Wonderful prompt, De. Thank you! I’ll be back later to read. 🙂
De Miller Jackson said:
Hi, merril. So happy to see you!
merrildsmith said:
🙂
Dr. Crystal Grimes said:
Love this, De! Thanks for hosting! 🙂
De Miller Jackson said:
Glad you’re here, Crystal!
De Miller Jackson said:
Hey, gang! I’m back on the reading circuit this morning! Looking forward to catching up with all your amazing Qs. Feel free to poke the dragon again today, and write another! Today I am pouring spicy fireball cocktails into dragonfly glasses. And of course, there will always be lemonade. Because some dragons are simply sweet as pie.