• Submit Poetry
  • Support SCP
  • About Us
  • Members
  • Join
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Society of Classical Poets
  • Poems
    • Beauty
    • Culture
    • Satire
    • Humor
    • Children’s
    • Art
    • Ekphrastic
    • Epic
    • Epigrams and Proverbs
    • Human Rights in China
    • Music
    • Performing Arts
    • Riddles
    • Science
    • Song Lyrics
    • The Environment
    • The Raven
    • Found Poems
    • High School Poets
    • Terrorism
    • Covid-19
  • Poetry Forms
    • Sonnet
    • Haiku
    • Limerick
    • Villanelle
    • Rondeau
    • Pantoum
    • Sestina
    • Triolet
    • Acrostic
    • Alexandroid
    • Alliterative
    • Blank Verse
    • Chant Royal
    • Clerihew
    • Rhupunt
    • Rondeau Redoublé
    • Rondel
    • Rubaiyat
    • Sapphic Verse
    • Shape Poems
    • Terza Rima
  • Great Poets
    • Geoffrey Chaucer
    • Emily Dickinson
    • Homer
    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    • Dante Alighieri
    • John Keats
    • John Milton
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • William Shakespeare
    • William Wordsworth
    • William Blake
    • Robert Frost
  • Love Poems
  • Contests
  • SCP Academy
    • Educational
    • Teaching Classical Poetry—A Guide for Educators
    • Poetry Forms
    • The SCP Journal
    • Books
No Result
View All Result
Society of Classical Poets
  • Poems
    • Beauty
    • Culture
    • Satire
    • Humor
    • Children’s
    • Art
    • Ekphrastic
    • Epic
    • Epigrams and Proverbs
    • Human Rights in China
    • Music
    • Performing Arts
    • Riddles
    • Science
    • Song Lyrics
    • The Environment
    • The Raven
    • Found Poems
    • High School Poets
    • Terrorism
    • Covid-19
  • Poetry Forms
    • Sonnet
    • Haiku
    • Limerick
    • Villanelle
    • Rondeau
    • Pantoum
    • Sestina
    • Triolet
    • Acrostic
    • Alexandroid
    • Alliterative
    • Blank Verse
    • Chant Royal
    • Clerihew
    • Rhupunt
    • Rondeau Redoublé
    • Rondel
    • Rubaiyat
    • Sapphic Verse
    • Shape Poems
    • Terza Rima
  • Great Poets
    • Geoffrey Chaucer
    • Emily Dickinson
    • Homer
    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    • Dante Alighieri
    • John Keats
    • John Milton
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • William Shakespeare
    • William Wordsworth
    • William Blake
    • Robert Frost
  • Love Poems
  • Contests
  • SCP Academy
    • Educational
    • Teaching Classical Poetry—A Guide for Educators
    • Poetry Forms
    • The SCP Journal
    • Books
No Result
View All Result
Society of Classical Poets
No Result
View All Result
Home Art

The Red Dragon Slayer

September 23, 2012
in Art, Poetry
A A
0
poems The Red Dragon Slayer

In the picture above, a Chinese citizen writes the words “Tui Dang” (literally “Quit Party”) signifying his resignation from the Chinese Communist Party. Since the publishing of the “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party” by the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times in November, 2004, Chinese people have been posting statements proclaiming their resignation from the Chinese Communist Party. (Artwork by Illustrator:Lam)

 

By Evan Mantyk

 

I.

The red dragon dives through the night,
It eats or kills those below,
Seems like sixty years without light,
The scared man approaches slow.

II.

Twilight village, quiet morning,
His statement on a wall hangs,
The first daylight soon adorning,
“I quit your communist gang.”

III.

Police bang hard at his locked door,
A baby begins to cry,
An empty dish breaks on the floor,
No one bothers to ask, “Why?”

IV.

Burning flesh and muffled screams fill
Communist labor camp walls,
Trying in vain to break his will,
Outside, red leaves start to fall.

V.

Looking straight in the dragon’s eyes,
Others all run away fast,
In its mouth a poor victim dies,
The man’s thoughts of death have passed.

VI.

The camp guard looks in the man’s eyes,
Brave blood stuck on his pale face,
The sickened guard tries not to cry,
“Let’s get him out of this place!”

VII.

Half alive on a Beijing street,
Two directions one might go,
Already on his shoeless feet,
What good is a sword that’s slow?

VIII.

Bright village on a bustling day,
Returning like an old soul,
Everyone has something to say,
Twenty statements on the wall.

IX.

How easy it seems to remove
The red dragon’s ugly head,
Looking back now it seems to prove,
The fear was all in his head.

poems The Red Dragon Slayer
(Illustrator:Lam)
ShareTweetPin
The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.
Read Our Comments Policy Here

RandomPoems

poem/sedia/melancholy
Beauty

‘This Silence’ and Other Poetry by Anna J. Arredondo

July 1, 2023

. . This Silence. Foremost among my woes: _This silence as it grows, __My mind fatigued from listening for your...

‘Weaknesses’ by Charlie Bauer
Human Rights in China

‘Weaknesses’ by Charlie Bauer

December 21, 2018

  I read that Christ said: “Turn the other cheek,” And told good friends I held that notion, but Still...

Next Post

An Abandoned Garden

Refreshing Realism: Shaun Downey

Refreshing Realism: Shaun Downey

Tang Poetry: The Gan Yu

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. Susan Jarvis Bryant on ‘Spontaneous Conjugal Combustion’ and Other Poems by Susan Jarvis BryantMay 12, 2026

    Joe, I love your interpretation - as far as I'm concerned" a gold-digging young gigolo who attaches himself to a…

  2. Roy Eugene Peterson on National Poetry Month Limerick ChallengeMay 12, 2026

    Urszula, what an imaginative limerick! That is something Poe might have done! Sorry to be so late seeing this.

  3. Roy Eugene Peterson on National Poetry Month Limerick ChallengeMay 12, 2026

    Agreed, Urszula! Thank you for commenting.

  4. Joseph S. Salemi on ‘Spontaneous Conjugal Combustion’ and Other Poems by Susan Jarvis BryantMay 12, 2026

    When I was in the U.K. I heard that "poodle" could mean a henpecked or subservient husband, and by extension…

  5. Susan Jarvis Bryant on ‘Spontaneous Conjugal Combustion’ and Other Poems by Susan Jarvis BryantMay 12, 2026

    Yael, it's always lovely to hear from you. I'm thrilled you enjoyed the poems. I did have people in mind…

Subscribe to Daily Poems

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,593 other subscribers

Recent Poems

  • A Poem on Coach “Black Mike” Castronis from Athens Y Camp, by Alec Ream
  • A Poem on the Zambian National Park Mosi-oa-Tunya, by Paul A. Freeman
  • ‘Creation of Mom’: A Mother’s Day Poem by Roy E. Peterson
  • ‘Spontaneous Conjugal Combustion’ and Other Poems by Susan Jarvis Bryant
  • ‘The Man in the Moon Was a Very Round Man’: A Poem by Lauren V. Leon
  • ‘Fibromytrauma’: A Poem by Golan Shahar
  • ‘A Lonely Sliver’: A Poem by Katie Tencza
  • ‘Higher Gas Prices Are a Small Price to Pay’: An Iran War Poem by Mark F. Stone
  • ‘Always Ahead’: A Poem by Scharlie Meeuws
  • ‘Hamlet’s Lawyer’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko
  • ‘On An Old Photograph’: A Poem by Joseph S. Salemi
  • ‘Faust Foresees His End’: A Poem by Martin Briggs
  • ‘À la Carte’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson
  • ‘Where the Sweet Bluebonnets Bloom’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson
  • ‘The Waters’: A Poem by Margaret Brinton
  • ‘The Pinnacle of Poetry’ and Other Poems by Russel Winick
  • The First American Sonnets: An Essay on David Humphreys, by Margaret Coats
  • ‘The Holy Rollers on Poetry’: A Poem by Joseph S. Salemi
  • Sappho’s ‘Poem 1’ Translated by Bruce Phenix
  • ‘The Cautionary Tale of Phone Addicted Mimi’: A Poem by Paul A. Freeman
  • ‘Look Away’: A Poem for America’s 250th Anniversary, by Roger Crane
  • ‘Sunday Morning in Canada’: A Poem by Jeffrey Essmann
  • ‘Bean’: A Poem by Jan Mennite
  • ‘The Swan’s Song ’: A Poem for Shakespeare’s Birthday, by Susan Jarvis Bryant
  • ‘The Gravedigger’: A Poem by Marie Burdett
  • ‘Waiting for the Perfect Man’: A Poem by Janice Canerdy
  • ‘The George-A-Saurus’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko
  • ‘When Asked: What’s Your Favorite Season?’: A Poem by Paul Millan  
  • ‘The Last At-Bat of Lyndon Braun’: A Poem by Michael Pietrack
  • ‘The Perpetual Battle’ and Other Poetry by Adam Sedia

Categories

  • Acrostic
  • Alexandroid
  • Alliterative
  • Art
  • Best Poems
  • Blank Verse
  • Chant Royal
  • Classical Poets Live
  • Clerihew
  • Covid-19
  • Deconstructing Communism
  • Educational
  • Epic
  • Epigrams and Proverbs
  • Essays
    • Interviews with Poets
    • Poetry Reviews
  • Featured
  • From the Society
  • Great Poets
    • Dante Alighieri
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • Emily Dickinson
    • Geoffrey Chaucer
    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    • Homer
    • John Keats
    • John Milton
    • Robert Frost
    • William Blake
    • William Shakespeare
    • William Wordsworth
  • Human Rights in China
  • Limerick
  • Love Poems
  • Music
  • Pantoum
  • Performing Arts
  • Poetry
    • Beauty
    • Children's Poems
    • Culture
    • Ekphrastic
    • Found Poems
    • High School Poets
    • Humor
    • Riddles
  • Poetry Challenge
  • Poetry Contests
  • Poetry Forms
    • Curtal Sonnet
    • Haiku
  • Poetry Readings
  • Rhupunt
  • Rondeau
  • Rondeau Redoublé
  • Rondel
  • Rubaiyat
  • Sapphic Verse
  • Satire
  • Science
  • Sestina
  • Shape Poems
  • Short Stories
  • Song Lyrics
  • Sonnet
  • Symposium
  • Terrorism
  • Terza Rima
  • The Environment
  • Translation
  • Triolet
  • Video
  • Villanelle

Quick Links

  • About Us
  • Submit Poetry
  • Become a Member
  • Members List
  • Support the Society
  • Advertisement Placement
  • Comments Policy
  • Terms of Use

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Poems
    • Beauty
    • Culture
    • Satire
    • Humor
    • Children’s
    • Art
    • Ekphrastic
    • Epic
    • Epigrams and Proverbs
    • Human Rights in China
    • Music
    • Performing Arts
    • Riddles
    • Science
    • Song Lyrics
    • The Environment
    • The Raven
    • Found Poems
    • High School Poets
    • Terrorism
    • Covid-19
  • Poetry Forms
    • Sonnet
    • Haiku
    • Limerick
    • Villanelle
    • Rondeau
    • Pantoum
    • Sestina
    • Triolet
    • Acrostic
    • Alexandroid
    • Alliterative
    • Blank Verse
    • Chant Royal
    • Clerihew
    • Rhupunt
    • Rondeau Redoublé
    • Rondel
    • Rubaiyat
    • Sapphic Verse
    • Shape Poems
    • Terza Rima
  • Great Poets
    • Geoffrey Chaucer
    • Emily Dickinson
    • Homer
    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    • Dante Alighieri
    • John Keats
    • John Milton
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • William Shakespeare
    • William Wordsworth
    • William Blake
    • Robert Frost
  • Love Poems
  • Contests
  • SCP Academy
    • Educational
    • Teaching Classical Poetry—A Guide for Educators
    • Poetry Forms
    • The SCP Journal
    • Books

© 2025 SCP. WebDesign by CODEC Prime.