I once thought of myself as a terrible
Oily, sharp-clawed beast who could do no
Right
A black- scaled dragon with a heart darker still
My father, the king, often told me I was
The queen shuddered in my presence
And so the scales grew and the fire built in my belly
But I rarely let it out
Or else the king’s men would banish me from the kingdom
And so I told myself that I was evil
And I wished that I could be a human too
So I took my claws to my scales and tried to scratch them off
I filed my fangs into a grin and tried to pass them as human
But it never worked, they always grow back
And I was covered in scars and thicker scales than before
I was so lonely in my cave
And every day the king hunted me
I scratched as the scales grew thicker
Covered in oily filth I could never wash away
But then the Lion came
And maybe change wasn’t all instantaneous
Sure the scratches were painful
As the lion went deeper into my heart
Than I ever could
As he ripped off my scales
And showed me that my heart is good
And washed away the mire I was trapped in
So that I can fly again
At times that old fire still burns
But not in rebellion or fear, no
To protect those who cannot protect themselves