The Great Red Dragon (Once Disguised)

He showed his wife his true form, a dragon in a human's skin

Stopped keeping secrets of his nature thinking it to be a sin

His wife, a woman whose skin and garments were coloured by the rays of the sun viewed him

She saw him as he really was, muscular, proud in stance but deformed, crimson and beastly in looks

Alarmed by this side of him, masterfully concealed until now, she fainted with shock

The red dragon who had once held a man’s looks regretted revealing his threatening fearsome form

Despair consumed and crushed him, he had shown his love cause for alarm

He tried returning his human form and lifted her into his arms

With tenderness he still possessed in spite of his fowl features

But failed to reclaim his human disguise, he realised that his relationship with the sun tinted maiden would now be changed forever

After discovering her lover had been a great red dragon she would never wish to stay within his loving grasp,

A tender dragon’s claw.

He distanced his body from his shocked beloved

He lost his love and a sadness stronger than any before

Cast itself upon him, like a shrouding cloak

His feelings altered now he had been stricken by internal pain

His wings did spread in flight he travelled, never to return again

*Based upon the first in a series of watercolour paintings by William Blake that were produced between 1805 and 1810, an image of the painting is shown above and is displayed in the Brooklyn House Museum