Deep on the earth, crystals grow…and perhaps Dragons too….
Copyright © 2019 Kim Whysall-Hammond
(shown at Eastercon 2019)
Deep on the earth, crystals grow…and perhaps Dragons too….
Copyright © 2019 Kim Whysall-Hammond
(shown at Eastercon 2019)
In deep time when the air was fat with moisture and warmth
you soared in low gravity, swooped over and along deep Marineris
scrabbled amongst rust red rocks, seeking the treasure of tasty morsels.
Then, as the air fizzed away to trail behind your little planets orbit
and the planetary heart chilled to immobility
so you chilled and slowed.
Settling down to a hibernation, waiting the warmth of a spring
that has never come.
Blanketed by wind borne dust you have been slumbering
in your crater nest.
Now those selfsame winds have scoured away your cover
revealing your raised scales.
Massive glider, hidden dragon.
Copyright © 2018 Kim Whysall-Hammond
(Thank you Nesa, for the idea!)
Bunge Crater Dunes — Fans and ribbons of dark sand dunes creep across the floor of Bunge Crater in response to winds blowing from the direction at the top of the picture. The frame is about 14 kilometers (9 miles) wide. This image was taken in January 2006 by the Thermal Emission Imaging System instrument on NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter and posted in a special December 2010 set marking the occasion of Odyssey becoming the longest-working Mars spacecraft in history. The pictured location on Mars is 33.8 degrees south latitude, 311.4 degrees east longitude. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State University
The colour of dragons
Depends
Sweet green for new hatchlings
To hide in high grasses
Black and red for an Emperor
Or a burner of crops
Many turn as gold as their treasure
Perhaps part of ageing
What colour a city dragon
Lurking on rooftops?
In Paris, creamy white as the buildings
In Berlin and London
Perhaps a glassy hue
Criss-crossed
In Amsterdam?
Turquoise and purple
With scarlet undertones………
Copyright © 2017 Kim Whysall-Hammond
I’m at Eastercon (the UK national Science Fiction convention) this weekend, with paintings in the Art Show……..
When I set about trying to paint a dragon for my good friend Larry, I was keen not to copy anyone elses dragons. This is what I came up with:
Copyright © 2019 Kim Whysall-Hammond
Painted as a present for my good friend, Larry — who is just a teeny bit fond of dragons!
In deep time when the air was fat with moisture and warmth
you soared in low gravity, swooped over and along deep Marineris
scrabbled amongst rust red rocks, seeking the treasure of tasty morsels.
Then, as the air fizzed away to trail behind your little planets orbit
and the planetary heart chilled to immobility
so you chilled and slowed.
Settling down to a hibernation, waiting the warmth of a spring
that has never come.
Blanketed by wind borne dust you have been slumbering
in your crater nest.
Now those selfsame winds have scoured away your cover
revealing your raised scales.
Massive glider, hidden dragon.
Copyright © 2018 Kim Whysall-Hammond
(Thank you Nesa, for the idea!)
Bunge Crater Dunes — Fans and ribbons of dark sand dunes creep across the floor of Bunge Crater in response to winds blowing from the direction at the top of the picture. The frame is about 14 kilometers (9 miles) wide. This image was taken in January 2006 by the Thermal Emission Imaging System instrument on NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter and posted in a special December 2010 set marking the occasion of Odyssey becoming the longest-working Mars spacecraft in history. The pictured location on Mars is 33.8 degrees south latitude, 311.4 degrees east longitude. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State University
To celebrate friendship and another visit to Amsterdam, here is a dragon lurking on some Amsterdam rooftops….
It is based on the blue Dragon I shared last week.
In my poem The Colour of Dragons, I was considering what colour a dragon might be. I was planning a present for a very good friend, who may just like Dragons ever so slightly (English understatement here).
Here is my first picture of Larry’s Dragon:
Another will follow next Monday….
The colour of dragons
Depends
Sweet green for new hatchlings
To hide in high grasses
Black and red for an Emperor
Or a burner of crops
Many turn as gold as their treasure
Perhaps part of ageing
What colour a city dragon
Lurking on rooftops?
In Paris, creamy white as the buildings
In Berlin and London
Perhaps a glassy hue
Criss-crossed
In Amsterdam?
Turquoise and purple
With scarlet undertones………
Copyright © 2017 Kim Whysall-Hammond
I’m trying to paint a dragon in Amsterdam……….what colour???
The colour of dragons
Depends
Sweet green for new hatchlings
To hide in high grasses
Black and red for an Emperor
Or a burner of crops
Many turn as gold as their treasure
Perhaps part of ageing
What colour a city dragon
Lurking on rooftops?
In Paris, creamy white as the buildings
In Berlin and London
Perhaps a glassy hue
Criss-crossed
In Amsterdam?
Turquoise and purple
With scarlet undertones………
Copyright © 2017 Kim Whysall-Hammond
I’m trying to paint a dragon in Amsterdam……….what colour???