Lost Magic
Reading Here are two poems about imaginary y animals. Read them twice – once silently to yourself, and once out loud to your partner.
The Last Dragon By a dusk-damp cave as the first snows fall a dragon breathes; the last of them all. His eyes are dull, his memories old; his breath is pale, his fire now cold. The forest mice who ran from his roar now nest by his feet, afraid no more. He turns his face to the winter moon; his claws are furled, his courage gone. The first owl swoops to the forest floor; but the last of the dragons is no more. by Judith Nicholls
Today I found some lost magic – a twisty-twirly horn of a unicorn lying at my feet. And when I stopped to pick it up, to hold it in my fist, I remembered how once upon a time you could always find unicorns, but there are no unicorns now. You would find them on the shoreline, flitting in and out of caves in cliffs, or climbing hills at twilight. They would lead you through forests, sometimes hiding behind trees, and if you lost them or they lost you, you could always find them again, but there are no unicorns now. And it didn’t matter if you followed them all day, the edge of the world was miles away, there was nothing to fear. And none of the unicorns we knew ever changed into dangerous strangers. Once upon a time there were unicorns, but there are no unicorns now. by Brian Moses Read poems silently and aloud.
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