Dragonslayer Poem by Victoria Gauci

I used to be afraid of you,
But not anymore,
Not for a long time now.
When you walked tall
And carried a big stick
You often used it to protect
Your children.
Now you carry a cane
And you swing words
Like a big stick
And you use it to hurt
Your children.
I've realized
Through my personal growth
And
Search for my identity,
That I was so very afraid of you
As a child.
That it was better to join you
Than to be against you.
By becoming your shadow,
I became the Dragonslayer.
But in that endeavor
I lost my most cherished possession...
Myself,
The essence of my beginning.
It's funny how
Now,
I still manage to keep my head
When what I really want to do
Is tear off yours.
It's funny how
Now,
After all these battles
That I can still love you so much.
Even after you pulled all of
Your weapons to hurt me.
You're lucky...
You managed to raise me
With qualities,
Tools I carry,
And articulate through my life
And use them not to slain you,
Or chain you,
But to understand you,
And forgive you.
Just as all my experiences,
All my sufferings,
All my joys,
Have taught me,
Molded me.
I can get beyond the flames
Of your mouth.
I may feel the heat,
But I do not,
And will not,
Get burned.
Isn't it funny how now
I can be a dragon.
I can spit the flames,
Snap my jaws,
After all...
I am my mother's child.

But just as a flame can
Cause a wound,
A flame can heal
a wound as well.

I am all the better for it.

1997