The Golden Dragon

She was a mighty dragon

With sparkling golden scales

And shining amber eyes

Living in her cave atop her treasure

Like any dragon would

But unlike most, she shared her bounty

With those who gained her favor

Spreading trinkets far and wide

To show what the peasants meant to her

***

Sometimes they questioned where she got it

Her mounds and mounds of treasure

Sometimes the answer got her trouble

And some peasants did not appreciate

All that she gave them

Spreading stories about the dragon

To the aristocracy

So that they looked at her with distain

Causing her to spread her ferocious flame

In self-defense

But in the end, it did not matter

For they were hers

And she was theirs

And she saved the most precious gift of all

For those most loyal to her:

Her presence

***

So when she did not wake one day

The peasantry did weep

The treasure was still theirs to keep

But the dragon was no more

Slain not by a gallant knight

But by the betrayal of her own body

They had thought her immortal

But time had fools of them all

***

The peasants left her body where it lay

So it may rest upon her treasure forever more

A reminder of the generosity

Of a mighty beast

That could have taken down them all

But chose instead

To be their savior