That Dragon Tattoo

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Toads a’ croaking

The sugarcane high

Fools rushing in

Where angels fear to fly

Doors broken

Blown open

Eucalyptus trees

Clawed asunder

In the white hot thunder

Of a cyclonic breeze

🐉 🐉 🐉

Bells toll

For the souls

Strung out

On the line

Hung out to dry

In the doing

Of hard time

Not a word of goodbye

So what could I do?

She gone with the man

with that dragon tattoo

🐉 🐉 🐉

I seen him

Hanging around

At the old truck stop

On the outskirts of town

She looked into his eyes

When he stopped her to ask

Was she going his way?

He had a face like a mask

A peddler of snake oil

Just passing through

Mayhem ‘n’ venom

Was the man

With the dragon tattoo

🐉 🐉 🐉

The preacher

Was preaching

Mannered and mild

Saying

Foolishness

Bound up

In the heart

Of the child

But who

Can you turn to?

What

Can you do?

When it’s you

Who

Was born

To be wild

Too bitter to swallow

It pierces straight through

She gave her arm to the man

With that dragon tattoo

🐉 🐉 🐉

“There’s no meaning to life.”

. . . some people say

It’s true sometimes

You can see it that way

Some rush to the strange

While others make do

There’s a sting

In the tail

Of that dragon tattoo

🐉 🐉 🐉

The tempest

Once raging

In the distance

Now receding

Yet in the silence

Her loneliness

Never leaves me alone

Visions

Born of fire

Dreams

Made of stone

Smoke

Upon the water

Flame

To the spoon

A broken wooden cross

Under a blood red moon

There’s a lonesome track

To a dark racecourse

Someone is out there

Beating on a dead horse

🐉 🐉 🐉

Is this existence

A blind witness

To the undertaker of crime?

Or is life in the living

The sowing and the reaping

A privilege divine?

Had she heard the Word

Faithful and true?

Yet she never said a thing

So what could I do?

There’s blood

On the trail

Of that dragon tattoo

🐉 🐉 🐉

~ by David B. Redpath

Inspired by Bob Dylan’s
‘Man in the Long Black Cloak’

Artwork;
David B. Redpath © 2019 – 2020

91 thoughts on “That Dragon Tattoo”

    1. Thank you very much Charlie.
      I was just ordering a new dictionary
      to enable me to assimilate your
      intriguing writings. My old one
      fell far short. Even my Rune Stone
      was stumped. Guess I’ll just have
      to use my imagination, if that’s O.K.?

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  10. I would like to show my gratitude for your kindness for all those that absolutely need help with your area. Your special dedication to getting the message throughout became really interesting and has consistently helped folks much like me to arrive at their pursuits. Your entire warm and helpful suggestions can mean so much a person like me and further more to my colleagues. Many thanks; from each one of us.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. “Not a word of goodbye…” made me weep. (Not even a note.) Terrific homage and I love your art. S/he knows about the light. The seed may grow and bring healing. Pain teaches us so much.
    ♥.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. Most poignant words and very strong imagery.
    The beating a dead horse line and imagery that comes from it is particularly vivid and distressing for me.
    Reminds of a scene in the film ‘Catch 22’ where a horse in a darkened alley laid on the road is being brutally beaten by a man with a whip !!!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. A great movie, and book.
      It showed me that when it comes to fighting
      the system, one individual just can’t win.
      So best just transcend the whole damn thing
      … or be sure to have fun trying ✌️😎

      Sorry to cause distress, Don.
      From my equestrian experience, horses are
      friendly & affectionate when treated right 🏇

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      4. Just when I get the hang of pocket calculators, fax machines, and pagers
        … they’re all out the window, and you’ve
        got to start all over learning a new device.
        I think I’ve got future shock!
        I best go on strike 😎

        Like

  23. This was spellbinding… I’m not sure how you do it but so much love comes through in your posts in spite of the slightly ominous atmosphere, it’s really a nice thing to read them. I liked the dragon emoji stanza separators. That artwork at the end!!!! Unreal. I’m thrilled to see you posting more! Keep going please! 😇🙏🥳💛

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanking you libaciously, Lia 🙏
      I’ve been chasing that dam dragon,
      from Mount Doom, to the land down
      under. I suspect that lounge lizard🐲
      is a lunar virus 🌕 super spreader.
      In the meantime, I’ll make progress
      reports of my endless search 👁️👁️

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. You intrigue me David
        And yet I sometimes feel
        I’ve been in cahoots with you
        Without even knowing it. 🐲🧚🏼‍♀️🧞‍♂️⁉️🔆 Bon continuation et Bon courage. 💗

        Liked by 1 person

  27. You can file this comment under wierd associative reader response: your poem reminds me of Alfred Noyes’ “The Highwayman.” It must be something about how repetition is used. I’ve been meaning to ask, do you have showings of your artwork in the brick-and-mortar world?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. A forty singing seamen salute to
      you Liz, for the reminder of that
      grand poet, Alfred Noyes.
      The author of Dick Turpin’s Ride.
      ‘The Highwayman’ is an epic tale
      of tragic romance along the lines of
      Romeo and Juliet. At least the ghosts
      of Bess and her highwayman lover
      get to meet again on winter nights.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

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