A sincere fear hides its name,
chooses on its own volition
to be unrecognizable
behind a static-eye screen
that searches historical maps
for real and imagined origin stories
with illustrated borders
that state, Beyond this point,
there be dragons.
copyright © 2019 Kenneth P. Gurney
POSTSCRIPT
Although the map edge Dragons theme has been in my mind since the dawn of my love of cartography, I found this article in the Atlantic that disputes it. Oh, well.
In Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea book series, the author works with the idea of “the thing is in the name and the name is the thing.” I find this especially true when dealing with fears. Once I can put a name to a fear, old ones more so, I take away some to most to all of its power over myself.
When dealing with dragons it is good to know if the dragon is from Europe or East Asia. In Europe the dragon represented something that needed to be defeated. Usually something one had to face to move from childhood to adulthood. In East Asia the dragon represented the blending of earthly and spiritual and was a goal to attain or transform into. That is my take based on my readings over the years.
Love & Light
Kenneth
