We have chatted with Elizabeth Crawford, of Soul's Music, earlier (here is the link), about the development of her personal mythology, that infuses so much of her wonderful poetry. Recently she wrote a poem about her dragons, and I thought it would be interesting to ask her to talk a bit about them. Happily, she said yes. Follow me, wayfarer: this way there be dragons!
Sherry: Elizabeth, I am so looking forward to you telling us about your dragons. We
are all ears!
Am
learning to speak myself
into being. With a word, a phrase,
can change where I’ve been, what
I might become.
Chart
a course by inner compass
locked onto stars only I know
the names of. Sail seas of inmost soul
pulled by currents of peculiar knowing
Traverse
plains of tall grass
on padded paws, moving over
continents wrapped round
this spinning globe of spanned seasons.
Split darkness of interior canyons
on silent wings, seeking that life
which hides in deepening shadow.
Pen
in hand, create a map of fine blue
lines, conquering worlds built by other
people’s definitions.
Make
myth from these moments of owned
existence, confident in knowing that all
these dragons be mine.
Elizabeth
Crawford 1999
Sherry: I love the phrase about speaking oneself into being. I think that must
be what we do as poets, especially when we first begin to write.
Elizabeth: This is the first time I put the dragons into my poetry. It is the
title piece of a small chapbook I created, which was all about writing poetry.
The image is a pen and ink drawing I put on the back cover. I knew, from my
History classes, that when the first explorers returned to their home ports,
they had numerous maps that were then turned over to cartographers. After
assembling the explored areas, the map maker would write in those areas that
hadn’t been explored, here there be dragons (or monsters).
I was playing on those words. By that time, I was long out of school, and had
begun tutoring certain individuals about writing, believing I had conquered my
own fear of being vocal about my truths. In the poem, I claimed the dragons as
mine. I guess they took me seriously, because they began to appear in dreams
and spontaneous imagery. There were several of them, like
He flew out of the deeper
mists of my inner world.
Thumped his way into
my living space, got up
into my face, and told me
that his name
is Neosafalus.
Whatever that might mean.
He’s a bit on the lean side,
certainly can’t hide the fact
that he is a dragon. Smells
somewhat of smoke, but
I didn’t choke at his
sudden appearance.
Have met his kind before,
know something of their lore,
and understand that he comes
with at least one lesson. They
are a superior breed, have
developed a need to help we
humans to be better
at being human.
He will take his time
and I’m willing to wait
on his discretion, because
whatever that lesson might be,
I already know it is needed.
Dragons live forever, so he
can afford to be patient
with me. We will learn how
to co-exist and when he
is finished teaching, he will
fly once again into those deep
blue mists, but will never
be forgotten.
Elizabeth Crawford
3/22/09
Sherry: One has to love a purple dragon. I love that the dragons come with a lesson. In our chat
in 2015, we spoke about the development of your personal mythology. Did the
dragons come later?
Elizabeth: I saw the dragons as a natural outgrowth of my Personal Mythology,
which had been in place since before my years in College. The story of that
creation may be found here: https://1sojournal.wordpress.com/2008/12/13/a-tiger-named-pain/.
I began to deal with them in a like manner. Their particular physical
appearance and their names were clues as to their purposes and meaning.
The color of the dragon is important because it identifies the lessons she/he
has come to teach. The image of Neosafalus is a free coloring page, found
online. I colored it with India Ink. He was purple, and for me, that means
personal power.
The name is also important because it speaks to the dragon’s purpose. I didn’t
have to go beyond that first prefix, because neo means newly arrived. I had
been involved in a Grammy Nomination that had brought me into the spotlight on
a local level, and had opened the doors that allowed me to give one-day
workshops, and the tutoring experiences, and eventually to teach at two local
colleges.
Sherry: Wow, that must have been a rewarding time in your life! A Grammy nomination! Congratulations! I love the story of the Tiger Named Pain. And I encourage our
readers to read the more in-depth story about the emergence of your dragons
which can be found here.
I especially love the motherly dragon in your following poem.
Zzo, little one, you have come
to my lair bearing questionz?
Not exactly…more for
inspiration. This poem a day
thing can be exhausting. Tired
doesn’t make good poetry.
But, I am a dragon child, and know
little of making poemz. Zzmoke
and fire,
yez, wingz and dragon thingz, I
may
zzpeak of, but poemz
are zzomesing you give birth to.
Not without your help. You
deepen
my awareness of all that surrounds me,
set a course, create a path through
this labyrinth of words and definitions.
Show me how to defend soul against
doubts and fears that would conquer me,
would stop me from expressing thoughts,
ideas, that you breathe fire into.
(She arches her neck, peers down at me
with a coy smile of pride) Yez, theze are thingz
I come to teach you. But, you had
to chooze to learn them.
(Now it’s my turn to grin and preen with her).
Perhapz, az you are want to zzay,
thiz could be
your poem for today?
Don’t know if it is a
poem,
but it sure makes
one hell of a story,
yesss?
And thank you.
(She smiles, then goes all
serious,
leaning down so that one whirling eye
is level with my own),
Little one? Doez thiz
mean that I too
can make
poemz?
Elizabeth Crawford
4/26/14
Elizabeth: This poem was written toward the end of an April poem-a-day
challenge. I was tired, as I was also giving word prompts based in some of my
old pieces. Marananthaheth was in my head, as the words for that day had come
from the here, but for me… poem. I had done internal dialogue pieces before and
they were well received. So, I typed in the first lines, and then stalled. Same
old, same old…people would think I’m nuts, gone round the bend, etc. My
daughter stepped in and gave me focus and that is in the notes that follow the
poem.
I wanted to express how much her presence means to me, and how important our
relationship has been, even though it is imaginary. Dragons have gotten a bad
wrap in Western culture. They seem to be seen as the Ultimate snake in the
Garden, needing to be destroyed. A dreaded part of the human shadow within the
psyche. But, in Oriental culture they are seen as benevolent beings, bringing
gifts and prosperity to the human race. When you destroy a piece of self, you
destroy the possibilities for further growth.
I got to my sense of the dragons through several avenues. 1. The Anne
McCaffrey series about the Dragon Riders of Pern. 2. The movie Dragonheart,
starring Dennis Quaid, with Sean Connery as the voice and personality of the
dragon. 3. The Dragon Tarot, with the express purpose of self-exploration, not
divination. 4. My continuing personal study of human behavior and how it
develops.
That last one is, perhaps, the most important one. We develop a world view, a
sense of the world, how it works, and our own role within that world by the
time we are five years old. Rudimentary at best, but it remains the filter
through which we develop our responses, including our coping mechanisms, to
deal with whatever frightens or threatens our well being. They are the dragons,
come to protect us as children. However, they remain in place and can prevent
further growth, unless we make friends with them, and allow them to teach us
how to grow beyond mere reaction, and into our full potential.
So, Marananthaheth has a sibilant lisp to remind me of her origins. But,
she also has a loving and nurturing nature, wrapped up in a need to see me
prosper. She is red, the color of Creative Fire. She is my imagination, that
which allows me (and her) to continue to grow. My desire, when writing the
poem, was to make her as genuine and as likable as possible.
Sherry: She is my favourite of your dragons. I can see her leaning down
with her kind whirling eye. I am also especially fond of “13 Ways I See My Dragon,” which gave me the
idea for this chat. Let’s read:
Digital painting titled Dragon's Lair
Call her Heth, short for Marananthaheth
which, in her language, means
nurturer.
She tells me that all Dragon
names
end in that brief, breathed out
syllable,
which means Home and all things
Dragon.
I
Bright, shiny metallic-like, crimson scales
that glint in the poorest of light.
Warm dancing sparks of a bonfire,
or another bloody sunrise.
11
Whirling eyes that miss nothing,
especially rapid fire mood swings
of this puny human she calls,
“Little One,” with deepest affection,
that can be felt like a soft woolen shawl
draped over old woman’s shoulders.
III
Crooning an ancient dragon lullaby
that sounds like gentle bells
calling a soul home from distant
indigo blue horizon.
IV
Personal patient Instructor
asking hard as stone questions,
yet willing to wait for months
for a stammering, unclear
thick as fog response.
V
On foot, slow and ponderous as an elephant
crossing a dry river bed,
but in the air, better than any bald eagle
I have ever seen. And far swifter.
VI
Wisdom as deep and turbulent
as an ocean, breathing fire
of life into all that surrounds her.
VII
Unknowing sense of humor
which results in laughter
that bounces off the walls
of her lair and moves
like a fresh spring breeze
to clear the air.
VIII
Restless shape-shifter, able to become
small enough to rest in palm
of hand or, in an instant, grow
to height of a towering skyscraper.
IX
Keeper of the Keys, and Guardian
of The Book of Dragons.
X
Knowing all other dragons
by name, past, present,
and future.
XI
Bends to welcome weight
of this puny human on her back
in order to fly her to distant stars
and other galaxies.
XII
Lover of Light and Enlightenment.
XIII
Protector of all things Elizabeth,
but especially of imagination.
Elizabeth Crawford
6/15/2017
Elizabeth: I don’t think this one needs an explanation. I like the 13 ways form
and thought it was time to use it for the dragons, but especially Heth.
Sherry: It is wonderful. Especially wonderful to have a “protector of all things
Elizabeth”. How cool! Thank you, Elizabeth, for allowing us to make
acquaintance with your dragons on a deeper level. We will enjoy watching them
re-emerge in new poems as the months go on.
Wasn't this wonderful, my friends? Like being told a magical tale by someone who knows dragons personally, which Elizabeth does. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. Do come back and see who we talk to next. Who knows? It might be you!
