Dark Harvest

Dark Harvest

by Mary Soon Lee

High on her mountain,
the dragon woke--

A fell foulness flared
at the far periphery
of her awareness,
north and east of her,
across the Innish border.

As if the demon walked again.

No, not quite.
The corruption tainted, altered,
as if someone had harvested
the demon's strength,
claimed it for their own.

The dragon's eyes black,
the gold in them gone.
The night dark, moonless,
the stars obscured.

* * *

Mary Soon Lee was born and raised in London, but now lives in Pittsburgh. She has won the Elgin Award and the Rhysling Award for her poetry, and recently had 119 haiku in Science (one for each element of the periodic table). A dozen of her poems may be read at http://www.thesignofthedragon.com.

What advice do you have for other poets?

Firstly, write what you are most drawn to write, whether it is fantasy or mystery, poetry or novels. I spent ten years failing to do this before finding my way back to fantasy and science fiction. Secondly, work on the craft of writing. Write; revise; examine the writing of authors you admire; try to get feedback on your writing, e.g. from a writers’ workshop; write some more; revise; repeat. Thirdly, read widely.