Yesterday

Yesterday

I was a golden dragon

The kiss of grasses brushed my ankles

And then I rose into the sky

Where I cavorted at first

Then drifted

brushing the clouds,

a wondrous lilting shape that those below

beheld with awe.

Gold and crimson I lapped the world

like a god commanding

everything

and everyone

all things revolved around me

I owned the day

Shattered it with my beauty

And my gigantic roar.

Today

yesterday was a dream

and now I am but a mere child

my mother standing over me

with her many demands

I must obey.

by Dianne Bates

• Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #14