A Peasant’s Peregrination

A Peasant’s Peregrination

By: Kavan Puranik

a ray of sunlight
on a cold
winter morning,
beckoned me
without warning,
to leave behind
my cozy cottage,
and set forth
on an adventure,
above the seas,
under the clouds.

I woke up from
my merry dream,
wherein I slew
a mighty dragon,
and followed
the golden beam,
like bandits after
a merchant’s wagon.

through tulip fields
next to windmills,
along the ridges of
moss-covered hills,
I wandered through
breathtaking
landscapes
that rivaled
the finest
works of art,
with a song
on my lips and
joy in my heart.

till I saw
a lonely hermit
perched on
a crumbling
wooden bridge,
high above
the raging river,
under the murky
mountain’s ridge.

he stared listlessly
into the chasm below,
as if remembering
a poignant tale
from long ago.

“tread carefully,
for this is where
dreams often die”,
he said, as I
passed him by.

the golden beam
no longer in sight,
as evening faded
gently into night.

the meandering
mountain road,
to an eerie
cavern led,
the cold wind
roared,
my spine
shivered
with dread.

in the cavern’s
darkest entrails,
I discovered
the hoard of gold,
spoken of in
campfire tales,
and forgotten
fables of old.

no blood-curdling
roar
in the darkness
thundered,
my heart drowned
in woe,
as I looked upon
the hoard
and wondered,
where did all
the dragons go?