Assisi: An Online Journal of Arts & Letters Volume 4, Issues 1 & 2 | Page 72

!
KUSUMITA P. PEDERSEN

THE DRAGON
A white-haired old man
Stepping slowly, carefully, and stooped
With a vague fond glance
As if walking with a grandchild.
One does not picture such a one
On the throne of the Empire.
He raised his head.
I noticed his skin was smooth
And fresh, unlined like a baby’s.
As I met his gaze,
I felt shame and dread, then love,
Like stepping through the curtain of thought,
Onto a vast, still, empty plain,
Something without a name –
Until I remembered,
“Grandfather” is a name for Heaven.
He said, “What do you seek?”
To advise the King.
“What advice do you give?”
The Way of the Sages.
“Abandon learning and craving for rank.
The idea of virtue fosters pride.
Hide. Become nothing.
The Sage is never seen.”
He was silent, words vanished.
I had thought there were no more Sages,
But today I have seen the Old Master.
To what can I compare him?
He is like the dragon
In the clouds and mist
Who climbs into the sky
And rides the wind.
Based on the legend of the meeting
of Confucius with Lao Tzu.

!!Assisi!!!66!