I have been seeing dragons again. Last night, hunched on a beaver dam, one held a body like a badly held cocktail;his tail, keeping the beat of a waltz, sent a morse of ripples to my canoe. They are not richly brightbut muted like dawnsor the vague sheen on a fly's wing. Their old flesh drags in foldsas they drop into grey pools, strain behind a tree. Finally the others saw one today, trapped, tangled in our badminton net. The minute eyes shuddered deep in the creased facewhile his throat, strangely fierce, stretchedto release an extinct burning inside:pathetic loud whispers as four of usand the excited spaniel surrounded him. Michael Ondaatje
About This Quote

The poem “I have been seeing dragons again” is written by the poet Charles Bukowski. He explains that he sees dragons in his dreams, which are often symbolic of various kinds of struggle. The first dragon he sees is a beaver dam. The beaver dam is a place where many animals gather together to huddle together for warmth during the cold winter months.

It is here where the dragon sleeps, huddled up with his friends. The dragon in this poem doesn't seem very bright because he keeps himself hidden under the dam to keep warm. He also seems to be very old because his wrinkled skin shows signs of age.

Finally, Bukowski describes what life would have been like if there were real dragons, but there are no real dragons in this poem after the first one enters the dream.

Source: The Dainty Monsters

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