Dragon Killer

[Thoughtjotter]

Dragon Killer

Riding bikes in and out of the smoky tail
of Smog the DDT dragon. I remember doing this as a youngster
Killer of the ubiquitous “Texas Horned Toad” ubiquitous-a new word for me, thanks for expanding my vocabulary
the last bastion against the pervasive hoards
of South American “Fire Ants”.
'Green Flag' acting only as a buoy,
set rocking back and forth, finally tipping over
as wave upon wave crashed onto our shores
making Normandy look a small thing by comparison.

By God we eradicated the mosquitoes for a time,
giving rise to the sixties summer backyard barbeque,
Frisbee, Slip and Slide, and Hula Hoops.
Pest free except for chigger invading swollen genitals;did you mean "invading chiggers swelling genitals"? (just asking.)
until EPA jet fighters slew the dragon
and mosquitoes returned with a vengeance.vividly clear and perfect imagery for that time period

Tipping a wing to their new Axis allies
the fire breathing ant hoards,as they roared past,
Between the mighty triumvirate
of fleas, mosquitoes, and fire ants,
it was only a short time before
they would retake the outdoors that was once theirs;
sending the human young fleeing inside
to bury themselves in video games.
Forgetting forever the adventures of
Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer,
tree houses, and rope swings,
or that trees were made for anything other than oxygen production.


–Erthona
Dale, you have painted with words the equal to the best of Norman Rockwell. Not only depicting an era in which children's main source of entertainment was their shared and individual imagination but also a precise description of mankinds over eager efforts to solve an immediate problem without understanding the consequence. I cannot offer substantial critique on grammatical or form in this poem but from my age of view the content is spot on. Maybe we should offer an age rating; PG13-25 (people guessing from ages 13 through 25), maybe an OF60+ (old farts 60 and over)
Just a couple of side notes concerning the disastrous effects of DDT:
1. It was known to inhibit the development of the eggs of wild birds, depleting the main source of insect control.
2. Fire ants are one of the main predators of all ground nesting birds such as the quail and whippoorwill.
3. Some old men who once rode their bicycles behind trucks spraying the poison known as DDT are now using their last two brain cells writing poetry.

Sorry about the elongated babble but while my other brain cell was napping I thought I would get me two cents worth,
R T


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