Finishing my still life
And I see the knight
Coming yon hillside
And I thought—
Oh great
Oh here we go
Because knights are always
Coming to rescue me
And they all get eaten
By the dragon
I’ve seen so many knights eaten
That it doesn’t even phase me anymore
The sound of cracking bone
Between a dragon’s jaw
Produces nothing more from my lips
Than a groan
I wish they’d just stop
Oh sure, it would have been nice
To be rescued a few years ago
Before I discovered painting
But now that I have
I’m perfectly content
And the dragon doesn’t bother me
On the contrary
Who do you think brings me
All the food I eat
And the outfits I get to wear?
The dragon may be a reptile
But she has a distinctly mammalian
Sense of style
Why yes, she’s a female
A female dragon
She has the most gorgeous wings
When they’re fully extended?
Breath-taking
I have no idea
Why she doesn’t want me
To leave the tower
But before I was kidnapped
My parents always told me
That what your oppressors think of you
Is none of your business
That’s sort of the wisdom
That gets imparted to you
When your father is a tyrant
I can’t believe I would have fared much better
If the dragon hadn’t abducted me
Either I would have been married off
To a barbaric prince
From a neighboring kingdom
Or locked in the southern part of the castle
Like Poor Cousin Beatrice
With those fingernails that wouldn’t stop growing
The way I see it
Trapped in a tower
In a far away land
With plenty of art supplies
Isn’t such a bad way
To spend your time
The dragon spends most of her days
Fetching me things and sleeping
So when I don’t want to feel so isolated
I just pretend that I have a very large dog
Who occasionally eats men in shining armor
I tried to yell down
To the last knight
I begged him to turn around
And go find a girl
Who wasn’t secluded-yet-satisfied
But I assume he couldn’t hear me
Under his little helmet
He tried jamming his sword
Into the dragon’s belly
And a second later
He was lunch
What are they teaching these knights
In school nowadays?
You don’t aim for the belly
You aim for the big toe
On the uppermost right foot
Everybody knows that
If only I could save myself
If only I desired saving
My still life is of a tower
Without a damsel in it
So lonely
So languid
So listless
As the breeze goes by
And the wind chimes whistle
And the dragon in the grass
Holds back her fire
The painting is a way for me
To see my own life
Without me in it
And it doesn’t seem so grand
To tell you the truth
I’d much prefer to stay where I am
As I am
While the riders appear
On the horizon
Carrying swords
Galloping towards me
Confident they’ll be the one
To slay the dragon
And save me
From my scenario
But then what?
--I’d like to ask them
Once you save me
Then what shall I be to you?
No longer a damsel in distress
Just…
…A damsel
And do I know how to be
Such a thing?
Does anybody?
We all know what to do
When we’re imprisoned
But do any of us know what to do
When we’re set free?
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