Tales of Darren, Part the 4th: And Then at Last Did Darren Leave

Sir Darren's sword cut high and low,
Seeking to smite the beast a blow,
The monstrous Dragon's coils dark,
Evaded bearing the blade's mark,
Across the plain the sounds of battle,
Steel blade screams and scales a'rattle,
Rung clear and loud into the sky,
As nature stood on and watched by,
And then at last the Dragon lunged,
And Darren into its maw plunged,
The Dragon roared its victory,
Its breath ablaze for all to see,
Yet then the Dragon's calling ceased,
As it felt pains from its last feast,
The spiked armor of the knight,
Inside himself now proved a blight,
And now as the Dragon did writhe,
Brave Darren's sword through its hide scythed,
And then cut for the knight a way,
Out into the bright light of day,
The Dragon could then stand no more
And with a final anguished roar,
It crumpled down unto the ground,
Leaving Darren bruised but sound,
And then at last did Darren leave,
This land that did his eyes bereave,
The Dragon killed his oath fulfilled,
The perished townsfolk free

~The End~

Faerie Tale Medley Announcement

Dear Readers,
As I may not have told you yet, I shall be participating in Camp NaNoWriMo this July, but that is only part of this post. The Novel I shall be writing on shall be a collection of the Faerie Tale Medleys. Therefore, I am suspending all Faerie Tale Medleys until the end of July.
Goodbye until the next,
-T. Granger

Roses are Red Contest

Dear Readers,
Below is my first poetry contest. Though I may change the way these things are conducted over time, the current format is this. I shall write the first few lines of a poem, and the contestants (meaning just about anybody who reads this contest) submit their ideas for the last line in the comment box. When all the suggestions have come in, I sort through them, and post the poem completed with the best last line.

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Roses are Red and Violets are Blue,
If you Love me, than please tell me true,
Sunflowers are Golden, some Rose are too,
...

Tales of Darren, Part the 3rd: The Dragon Clashed in War with Man

Therein he lay all fevered hot,

Alive on borrowed time not bought,

It seemed as though he were to die,

As he did on sickbed lie,

And then the sickness from him passed,

As though it never meant to last,

And Darren leapt up to his feet,

Prepared to now the Dragon meet,

Now with his health fully regained,

Darren was loathe there to remain,

Yet Darren stayed in the town still,

Not for lack of strength or will,

But on account of his own scheme,

To best the Dragon from the stream,

Brave Darren had the blacksmith pound,

A suit of sturdy armor sound,

A suit covered in piercing spikes,

A suit that none had seen the likes,

And thereby armed with sword in hand,

Brave Darren trekked across the land,

To that place where a town had been,

To where he had the Dragon seen,

And still across the plain the stream,

Did smoke and froth and boil and steam,

As water ran across the hide,

Of the black Dragon there inside,

Brave Darren strode across the field,

 Gripping tight his sword to wield,

And came upon the the riverbank,

The waters with Drake sulfur stank,

And Darren called out with voice loud,

"Come forth to be by my blade bowed!"

And then up from the wat'ry depth,

The Dragon of pure black now crept,

Its coils dark, from water wet,

Its gaze on Darren firmly set,

And now the beast came fully out,

Its coils churning all about,

And it was then that Darren lunged,

And thrust his blade out for the plunge,

Yet the Dragon moved on past,

Its coils twisting steely fast,

And Darren was then in its hold,

All bound about with sinews cold,

Yet as the beast tightened its grip,

The armor spikes did its flesh rip,

And then the beast did its hold loose,

To save itself from such abuse,

And Darren dropped then to the ground,

His body sore yet wholly sound,

Then donning his dark spiky helm,

He faced odds that did overwhelm,

The Dragon reared its ugly head,

Above the knight far overhead,

And bellowed with a fearsome wroth,

And spewed a breath all fiery froth,

The sky above alight with dawn,

Looked down this battle then upon,

And as sun rose from horizon,

The Dragon clashed in war with man,

~To be Concluded~

Tales of Darren, Part the 2nd: The Monstrous Reason Why

Greetings Readers,
Below is the second installment in the first tale of Darren, starting up right where the first one left off. If you have not read the first one, simply check below this one for it.
Thank you.

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A beastly Drake all coils and teeth,

It's flame about its snout a wreath,

Its breath poured forth upon the town,

Flame to burn it to the ground,

And monstrous claws and teeth and tale,

Did smash and crush, through cottage flail,

Brave Darren seeing such a beast,

On the souls that lived their feast,

Did once again spur his mount on,

And charged without his bright helm donned,

The Dragon from the wreckage heard,

As Darren cried challenging words,

"Turn thou now, thou beast of black!

Show me thy face now, not thine back!"

And as the Brave sir knight did shout,

The beast of black turned then about,

And then did knight meet Dragon there,

Thrust out his blade to Dragon tear,

Such a battle did rage then,

As long gone from the world of men,

And when at last the fray had ceased,

Victor was neither knight nor beast,

The Brave Darren had battled strong,

And he and beast had battled long,

But now they scarce had strength to crawl,

Away from the place of the brawl,

The Drake did to a river slink,

And into its dark waters sink,

There to recover his lost might,

Then once again to wage the fight,

While Darren lay upon the earth,

With scarce the strength he had at birth,

His armor smoky-black and bent,

And by the Dragon's batt'rings rent,

Brave Darren's once bright shining blade,

Lay smoking hot there in the glade,

And close by it the knight's steed lay,

 Its dead coat with the ash now grey,

Yet as the knight lay all-but slain,

There came the miracle of rain,

It purged the ash and his face bathed,

And his burns in fresh coolness swathed,

So that soon the knight awoke,

And his deathly stupor broke,

And rose again to stand upright,

A peer off with uncertain sight,

To survey a sorry scene,

The place where once a town had been,

Brave Darren saw a blackened waste,

With bones of men and charred-wood laced,

The all scarred and furrowed deep,

Like grain-sown fields, never to reap,

And out across the darkened dell,

Up from the river as from Hell,

Rose plumes of burning smoke and steam,

There from the Dragon in the stream,

Darren swore then to the dead,

That he would never know a restful bed,

He was on the beast revenged,

And all their deaths had been avenged,

Yet that fine day he could not fight,

Not battle the black Dragon's might,

For he himself was wearied sore,

And scarce could now go back for more,

And so Brave Darren took up sword and left,

There from the land of life bereft,

And turned his feet upon the road,

To there where men made their abode,

And so it was that Darren came,

To there where none knew of his fame,

A town far from the greater towns,

Here were more smiles and less of frowns,

Brave Darren was wearied from walking,

And could scarce move lips for talking,

But managed then at last to speak,

Through bone-dry lips, with words now weak,

"Pray help me, good townsfolk," he pled,

"For I am wearied, all-but dead,"

And then with these words spoken meek,

The knight collapsed, his knees now weak,

And thence was carried by the men,

Out from the cold, into an Inn,

~To be Continued~

The tales of Darren, Part the 1st: Once upon a time now past

Hello Readers!
This post marks the first in a series of installments, something like the Faerie Tale Medleys. I call these "The Tales of Darren" and they are all poems. This one is the first installment of a much longer poem which I shall be posting over a series of days.
Any constructive criticisms you have on the verse or any other details of the poem, would be welcome in the comment box.
Thank you.

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Once upon a time now past,
There was a knight of his kind last,

Who roved through plain and then through dell,
Seeking to make the bad well,

Brave Darren was the name he bore,
Strong and bright armor he wore,

His kind were lost in long gone days,
Going off upon their ways,

Brave Darren was the last now left,
In a land of mortal good bereft,

Yet none could halt him on his quest,
To all the evil darkness best,
None could stand in Darren's way,
None could hold Darren at bay,

One day as Darren rode through glen,
On path traversed by beast not men,
With sky above all black and gray,
As he rode on along his way,
He heard the sounds of those in fright,
The screams and wails of sorry plight,
Brave Darren hesitated not,
He spurred his mount into a trot,
And burst from out the forest trees,
Behold! Dark smoke blew on the breeze,
For close by where Darren now stood,
A town built of not rock but wood,
Was burning hot, flames blazing bright,
Bathing folk in fearsome light,
And coiled black against the sky,
Stood the monstrous reason why,

~To be Continued~