De Jackson is the host of dVerse today for Quadrille Monday. De says:
Just pen us a poem of precisely 44 words, not counting the title, and using some form of the word dragon.
“Ancient Japanese lore describes Koi fish swimming up a massive waterfall called ‘The Dragon Gate.’ If they reach the top of the waterfall, they transform into the legendary mythical creature. This legend defines perseverance and is one of the reasons koi fish are held in such high regard.”
“Peng or Dapeng is a giant bird that transforms from a Kun giant fish in Chinese mythology. In Chinese literature, the Daoist classic Zhuangzi has the oldest record of the Peng and Kun myth. The Peng fish-bird transformation is not only the beginning myth in Zhuangzi, but Robert Allinson claims, ‘the central myth.’ Many Zhuangzi scholars, both Chinese and foreign, have debated over the Peng story. Lian Xinda calls it ‘arguably the most controversial image in the [Zhuangzi] text, which has been inviting conflicting interpretations for the past seventeen centuries.’ “
Rising
Whorling penumbra,
impelling orange-blue
heads touching tails;
levitating spiral, from
the waterfall to the gate.
Bounding faith
releases us from
smooth-stoned
gravital pathways.
Buoyed while still swirling
as one, our elements shift,
from water to air,
earth to heaven, rising —
as dragons.
Tao Talk 
nice analogy, seeing dragons as faith
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Thank you for your nice comment, Larry.
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Really love this!!! So beautiful!
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🙂 Thank you, Nathan. Glad you connected with it.
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And I as well!
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A stunning evocation of koi fish in the ‘whorling penumbra’ and ‘levitating spiral’, Jade. I will now think of them as dragon fish.
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Kim thank you so much. I appreciate your kind words.
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This was killer Jade, and such a wonderful legend, one I was unaware of. Loved the picture.
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Rob, thank you very much and glad you liked the legend and the picture.
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SO interesting! And I love the flow of your words.
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Thank you, De. I’m glad you found it interesting and liked the word flow 🙂
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Love the myth knowledge you shared, and the poem was first rate. You perform wonders within the parameters of a quadrille.
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Glenn thank you. I’ve know about the kun/peng for a long time and learned about the koi ascent through my kids watching Dragonball Z and other anime. I appreciate your kind comment about the quadrille 🙂
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From “whirling penumbra” to “gravital pathways”, well written!
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Thank you very much, Beverly! I’m glad you liked it.
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Another new analogy for me, koi as dragons. That’s very creative. They are dragon like in appearance. Thank you very much!
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You are welcome. I didn’t create the analogy, it’s based on Japanese and Chinese myths 🙂
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A lovely poem
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Sadje thank you, for that and for the nice comment on “A flip of the coin” story. I accidentally “deleted” it by hitting the wrong keys.
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You’re welcome Li. No worries I am always doing that. Lucky iPad app has a undo button. 😉
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Sometimes I catch it in time to “undo”, but the red sign came up. I was able to get into comments and approve it after that but it didn’t show back up in my comments column 😦
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That’s wp for you!
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Very interesting and a very beautifully executed quadrille! 🙂
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Thank you, Punam 🙂
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You are welcome Li. 🙂
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Lovely imagery, Jade! I can’t help thinking the legends would be more inspiring to have the dragons rise as gentle, peaceful fish 🙂
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Thanks Jane. Maybe the new legends will be.
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It’s about time we started to write some new myths. The old ones are becoming a burden.
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I so love this, authentic connection and so refreshing to read.
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Paul, your kind words are appreciated. Thank you.
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You are most welcome 🙂
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Even without the description, your poem has a mythical feel. But I still enjoyed the backstory.
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I believe in the story. Thank you for reading and for your comments.
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I loved the poem, and the background made it even more interesting!
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Thank you so much, Irene. Your thoughts and comment are appreciated 🙂
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Great background here Jade. and that last stanza is stunning.
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Thank you very much, Linda. Glad you liked it.
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Interesting legend, Jade, and love your middle stanza of how faith releases us 🙂
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Thank you, Lynn, and the koi faith that they would reach the gate is what enabled them to transform ❤
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I love your take on the prompt. Auspicious dragons indeed and a fun video.
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Thank you, Anna and love your “auspicious dragons” 🙂
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I know that the Asian dragons are kinder than ours… maybe that way of looking at dragons is better.
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The myths of a culture define it. Remember when we did the prompt on trolls and you saw them as warm fuzzy critters and I saw them as dark maniacs under the bridge. I’m guessing the fairy tales we read as kids helped shape our views. Thank you for your comment, Bjorn. As always I cherish and appreciate your thoughtful comments.
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“rising —
as dragons.”
Ooh! Great!
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❤ Glad you like.
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Wonderful imagery, what a great story.
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JP thank you and I love telling the story.
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Beautiful mythical story. I truly luv myths folk lore and fairy tales. This one was nice
I linked in at #23
Much💙🌹💙love
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Thank you Gillena, glad you enjoyed the myth.
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Enjoyed the poem and the lesson about koi fish.
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Thank you, Margaret.
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🙂 I love mythologies of all kinds.
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they are enduring icons of cultures. i love them too
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