Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Appreciate a Dragon Day!

January 16 is the official "Appreciate a Dragon Day." So, if you know a dragon, tell him (or her) how much you appreciate him. Dragons always enjoy a nice pat on their scaly backs, or a belly rub, if you dare. I hope you like the outstanding portrait of Makaidos, one of the dragons from my book series, drawn by thirteen-year-old Kristin. (Thank you, Kristin!)

To celebrate this holiday, I am running a contest. Create a short poem (at least four lines) about dragons and post it as a comment. I will pick the best ones and draw a winner at random from the finalists.

After you post, send me an email with your email address so I can contact you if you win. The prize is the Circles of Seven audio book. My email address is bryan at dragonsinourmidst dot com. Replace the "at" with "@" and "dot" with a period.

I reserve the right to reject any poems, and the winner must live in the U.S. or Canada (Postage is expensive.) The decision of the judge is final.

******** Added on Sunday, January 20 ********
The poetry contest for Appreciate a Dragon Day is now over. I will announce the winner soon.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is so cool! I'm so going to enter!YAY!

Anonymous said...

I shall post it tomorrow if I can. When's the deadline?

Shane Deal said...

I shall post my poem after midnight. :-D

I will wish the dragons in my novel a very, very, good Appreciate a Dragon Day.

(Mind if I make that one of my Elves official holidays?)

-Shane

Anonymous said...

I would enter, but I live in Canada...*sigh*

Oh, and i figured out the comment posting problem..it was my computer...school laptop. so unreliable! oh well...

p.s. yes, i did get an error message...

Anonymous said...

That's a cool holiday! We should soget a day off of school to just read about dragons...then maybe i could write more of my book...

Unknown said...

Ok, I came up with two four line stanza's, but this one is my fave of the two. If you want to see the other one, just say so.

A dragon's fire burns red hot,
And flames dance through the night,
Illuminating the narrow path,
And shining with holy light.

Shane Deal said...

Here's my poem:

Like jewels that glisten.
With great tongues of fire.
A heart that does listen.
And wings that fly, ever higher.
Lords of the air
Jewels of creation,
Enemies do fear
Grieving the nation
With Servants of the Most High
Who has made scales like armor.
Wings with which to fly
To flee the deceitful charmer.

Anonymous said...

Wow! That is one AWESOME drawing!!!


-Kristin's mom :)

Anonymous said...

God’s Dragon
By: Zoƫ J.

God’s Dragon.
The creature with a heart of love.
God gives each dragon an individual beauty.
The light in its eyes twinkle like the midnight stars burning with fire.
The fire that tells all men,
“I am here; I am waiting for you to join me in battle of light and darkness.”

God’s Dragon.
A valiant and faithful fighter,
Ready to fight for love and peace.
A fighter that will give its life and dedicate it to God.
The plethora of wars will never end, until the Savior comes,
And so the dragon’s fire will ever burn Satan and his demons, until they are gone.

Praise God for the faithful, loving, dragon...that we somehow have inside of us.
Ready to fight for love and peace, and reveal it’s faith to all.

God’s fighting dragon in me.

Anonymous said...

The adventures of Bonnie and Co.
Were duly recorded, like so
By Clefspeare the Great
A Dragon, first-rate
His book-count continues to grow!


(Alas, Ithilien's poetical brilliance, or lack thereof, is limited to limericks.)

Anonymous said...

Only in US? RATS!! I don't live in the US. Otherwise I might send something.

Happy Appreciate a dragon day!

Bryan Davis said...

You can send something anyway!

I don't know where you live, but I will open the contest up to Canadians. So, come on Canada, send in your poems!

Anonymous said...

Happy Appreciate a Dragon Day, Mr. Davis!

It was quite a bit of time ago
When dragons came to be
Serving as loyal guardians
Of an eternal tree.

These dragons served the Creator
Braving many dangers
The slayers came to change the name
Of those considered strangers.

Yet still the dragons labored hard
To right the ancient wrong
Merlin came to help their quest
By singing holy songs.

And still the dragons fight to save
Their legend, legacy.
Many soar in skies of blue,
Flying to be free.

Unknown said...

Here is my poem about dragons. Probably not as good as pais, but I can try:) This is a simple four line stanza.

Sapphire eyes ablaze,
Scorching dragon's gaze,
Illuminating a cold heart,
To fill the missing part.

Happy Dragon Appreciation Day!

Unknown said...

Dark, ominous shadows pervade my view
Tears scrawl down my eyes; all hope lost
Yet hope comes in the form of a green scaled beast
A dragon from the heavens, Bringing with all that I have quenched for

Sapphira Adi said...

This is my Dragon poem. I hope everyone likes it.

The Dragon lies down on the floor to rest.
Sunlight glitters on his scaly chest.
All around on the big cave floor,
Treasure is heaped and piled galore.
A man silently creeps into his lair,
A sword in his hand, which he’s ready to bare.
A rumble, a growl, a threatening roar,
The man falls trembling down on the floor.
“And why to you come to my cave?” says the Dragon with glee.
“Do you plan to stay awhile? Will you join me for tea?”

Anonymous said...

Mine's kind of long... Not too bad, though.


Here it is:


Awestruck I stand,
Wondering if I’m dreaming.
Is there really a dragon there,
Or is my imagination gleaming?

His scales are like rubies,
And his eyes are emerald.
His height makes me feel small,
But I stand tall and bold.

Wisdom flows from his mouth,
Years of experience and love.
He speaks of a Creator,
A creator that watches from above.

Too curious to be scared,
I take a step nearer.
Fire erupts from his mouth,
And I see everything clearer.

My eyes are opened,
A new world revealed.
There is someone that cares,
Someone that holds up my shield.

This shield protects,
No fire can hurt me.
Enemies may attack,
But protection there will always be.

Majesty, radiance, awe.
All this comes from a Father.
Everything is His.
Glory, praise and honor.

Anonymous said...

I was the the Ian guy, just so you know...

Thanks so much for opening up the contest to us Canadians! here is my poem:

By blessed praise and holy fire

Dragons came to fight

To serve the righteous King of Life

Warriors of the light

Corrupted ones, the fallen fire
In darkness named their race
Yet some stood strong and kept the word
Of God’s eternal grace

In deepest darkness of the world
The fallen angels raved
But evil power could not touch
The dragons who were saved


Beyond the scale, beyond the claw
An evil war is fought
To claim eternal faithful souls
That once in sin were caught

The dragon’s tooth, the dragon’s claw
The dragon’s holy fire
Are not as strong as faith and love
Which lift us gently higher

For we, the dragons, now must
choose
The king that we will serve
Will fight for darkness or for light
We dragons of the earth?

I like writing poems...and i like the portrayal of dragons in your books! Awesome!

And awesome portrait, too! Great artist...

Happy Appreciate a Dragon Day..well, yesterday...:)

Anonymous said...

In days of old when dragons flew
Twas magic in the air
And though those days were dangerous,
At least boredom was rare!

Alas, those days have vanished for
The dragons all have fled,
And where they are no one may know
Are they alive or dead?

History, legend or a myth?
For none can truly say,
Shadows and phantoms in the mist,
Or truth in light of day?

Perhaps someday they will return
Pure golden light shining
Forth, piercing darkness in our hearts
Dragons shall live again

Roheryn said...

The tawny and red scales
So strong, smooth, and warm
The heart of courage never fails
Graceful and sleek in form

Light reflecting from eyes
That rarely know a tear
Out of the darkness they rise
Red beams, not meant to sear

From the great and toothy maw
The flame comes flowing forth
Not the subject of human law
Their own of great worth

Strong leathery wings
On the rise they beat
And the heart sings
With exhilaration of the feat

So noble a creature
Valiant and strong
Beautiful in feature
The dragon of song

Sapphira Adi said...

This contest shall be very interesting:)

Anonymous said...

Here is my poem:

Dragons

The dragon of old,
Or so we are told,
Is very bad and a brute.

But in old Makaidos,
There is not a dose,
Of any evil within him.

The fate of a dragon
Is unknown.
Do their sins get judged?

But for sure,
We all have known.
They are still like us.

Dragons can die,
And so can we.
But we all now what they can be.


A Dragon is a friend
Someone who can help you through hard times.
It doesn’t matter if they are real or not.
They could be imaginary
If so they are still a friend.
So appreciate a dragon!


--A poem by Zachary S

Anonymous said...

Dragons: A Poem by Magma


Dragons soar beautifully
Dragons roar fearfully
True dragons are brave
And never the knave
They have a heart of gold
And will prayerfully never turn cold
Their fires burn bright
They have exquisite sight
Their regeneracy domes
Are all they need for homes
They are not greedy
But give to the needy
They act gallantly
They fight valiantly
Even if they cannot win
They will not fear
Because they know God is near
And He will always be within their hearts
No matter where
No matter why
They have accepted His love
and it will retain them through the darkest times
To have that Friend from Up-above

Bryan Davis said...

The poetry contest for Appreciate a Dragon Day is now over. I will announce the winner soon.

Anonymous said...

Wow, those are all good! :D

Anonymous said...

Oh well, maybe some other time I'll win...