Draft in the author’s style. This poem was written for Poet in Wonderland to sit beside the author’s own readings, and is waiting for the author’s review. The commentary is a working draft too.
On a crag above the clouds, where the winds are wild and free,
A griffin guards her nest of gold beside a windswept tree.
She has the head of an eagle and the body of a lion,
And a roar that shakes the mountains and the peaks of high Orion.
A boy climbed up to steal her gold, with a rope and a little knife,
But he stopped when he saw the eggs, the bright new seeds of life.
There were three of them, all glowing, like opals in the sun,
And the griffin watched him, silent, waiting for what he'd done.
The boy laid down his knife, and spread his coat across the nest,
To shield the eggs from the mountain wind, and he let the griffin rest.
She bowed her head, and gave him a golden feather from her wing,
And he learned that the finest treasure is the kindness you can bring.
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Commentary
A boy climbs a mountain to steal a griffin’s gold and finds something worth more. The poem turns a treasure hunt into a choice between taking and protecting.
“On a crag above the clouds,” a griffin guards “her nest of gold beside a windswept tree.” She has “the head of an eagle and the body of a lion,” and “a roar that shakes the mountains.” A boy climbs up “to steal her gold, with a rope and a little knife,” but stops “when he saw the eggs, the bright new seeds of life.”
There are three eggs “like opals in the sun,” and the griffin watches “silent.” The boy “laid down his knife, and spread his coat across the nest” to shield them. She bows and gives him “a golden feather from her wing,” and he learns that “the finest treasure is the kindness you can bring.”