Do Your Students Write about Green Dragons?

1.

A dragon swoops out the sky and takes me to another land where the wee people live.

My husband is one of the green dragons, and I am safe because he keeps the evil ones at bay.

Tiny green men are rushing to my side, healing my wounds, the ones no one else can see.

Each of these lines are from stories and essays I have read while teaching creative writing to middle-aged writers at various conferences. In all three cases the writers insisted that this really happened. They weren’t writing sci-fi. Hadn’t I, too, seen dragons?

One man told me I would understand if I had a third eye. If I had any spiritual intuition. He was a shaman himself. He could heal people like me. Blind people like me. I asked him if he took mushrooms or acid, and he said no. Not all the time.

2.

A few weeks ago I was reading a book about spiritual leaders who took acid. I was so disappointed to read that Huston Smith’s deep revelation of communion with God occurred on an acid trip. I told this to my friend who insisted that he might have had this experience even if he weren’t on acid. But he didn’t, I answered.

3.

Steroids continue to be a topic for the sports news. Most recently the steroid sport in the news was biking. Does Lance take them? everyone asks. These days I assume all the great athletes are just one step ahead of the drug police. I wonder what new drug will produce what new world record? I sometimes wonder what it would be like to run as fast as Marion Jones or Carl Lewis, or to race the Tour de France with the power of someone like Lance Armstrong.

Maybe we could all run and bike like the wind and live like superheroes. So what if all our men had tiny penises and our women grew chest hairs and beards?

4.

I remember learning in history class that we have two political parties in the U.S.. One is bought by the corporations and the rich and is designed to help the rich become richer. The other is half-bought by the corporations and the rich and tries to live with half a conscience.

But why, I would ask, why can’t we have a few politicians who aren’t bought?

They wouldn’t have the money to win, now would they? the teacher replied.

5.

Okay, maybe we so need some green dragons to save the planet . . .

If only they came in a drug-free form . . . and cleaned up oil spills and yeah, okay. I think it's time to sign off . . .