This poem I wrote as an English assignment and is based on the
Dragons of Pern books by Anne McCaffrey. It focuses paricularly on events in the second book,
Dragonquest, and uses part of a song about those events from
Dragonsinger:The Harper of Pern.
If you have not read the series and want to better understand some of the references, here are some notes.
pg 1 pg 2Go to the SourceSeven Turns past, Thread fell once more,
Deadly rain from the Red Star.
Dragons rose in flight to flame,
Led by Lessa and F’lar.
All Pern united, standing firm
Against a common foe.
But as time passed the tension waned,
Petty grievances did grow
Then disaster stuck, shocking all.
Threads falling out of phase.
Pern found no choice but to again
Join under Benden’s gaze.
They scrambled to protect their homes,
Uncertain what would come.
Searching for another way,
One answer, only, to some.
And they said
“Why can’t you go to the source,
Taking the battle to them?
We need you to go to the source,
Bringing Thread-falls to an end.â€
They found the grubs that ate the Thread,
But people needed more,
Dragons flaming on the Star.
Enters, here, F’nor.
Rider of brown dragon Canth,
And golden Grall’s friend.
Half-brother, shadow, of F’lar,
And his Wingsecond.
Partner to ex-queen-rider Brekke,
Her life now life is gone.
His love and Canth’s hold her here,
Keep her living on.
F’nor heard the call and saw the way
The winds of change would blow.
As dragonmen, fulfil their oath,
To the Red Star they must go.
He saw the star through distance viewer.
Studied the glowing eye,
Looked closely at their ancient foe,
Hanging in the sky.
He saw the clouds across the face,
A hand closing its fist.
He knew F’lar would try to go,
One man Pern could not risk.
And he said
“Why can’t we go to the source,
Taking the battle to them?
They need us to go to the source,
Bringing Thread-falls to an end.â€
He asked gold Grall if she could go
To the Star between.
But shrieking with terror of memory,
Refused the little queen.
Scared of the place that he’d shown,
Co-ordinates too clear.
But Canth offered for him to go,
Said dragons do not fear.
Led by a cloud, no time to think,
They leapt into the air,
And turning east towards the Star,
Imagined them both there.
In between, no sight, no sound,
No touch but that of mind.
They hung for longer than before,
Afraid of what they’d find.
They reappeared in roiling cloud
Of grey and heat and roar.
And surface of the Red Star
Below, at last, they saw.
Then, tossed away, caught up in
A cyclonic whirlwind.
Heat and burning pain surrounds,
Sand flays them to the skin.
Tumbling, broken, helplessly,
Still he felt the fear,
Dragons can’t go to the star.
He must warn the Weyr!
Consciousness fading, home between
The battered pair did flee.
Arriving high above the Weyr,
They fell, so rapidly.
The air groaned and bowl darkened,
Wings blocking the moonlight,
As dragons, lizards, from all Pern,
Desperately took flight.
They formed a ramp into the clouds,
Catching them mid-fall.
Then lowering gently to the ground,
Where Brekke did wait and call.
“Don’t leave me alone!â€
The cry in the night,
Of anguish heart-striking,
Of soul-numbing fright.
“Live, for my living
Or else I must die.â€
It echoed through minds,
A world heard that cry.
She hurriedly, beside them knelt,
Checking pulse and breath.
Faint heartbeat but no air moved,
They hovered close to death.
Brekke grabbed F’nor and, holding close,
Forced her lifebreath in.
Sharing breath and life and love,
‘Till breathing did begin.
Over time the heroic pair
Slowly began to heal.
Some would not accept their warning,
But scars proved it was real.
Now we know
Why we can’t go to the source,
Taking the battle to them.
Though they need us to go to the source,
Bringing Thread-falls to an end.