Last night, I went to the SCV meeting in West Monroe. We had one of the best programs I’ve ever seen at a camp meeting. A member had brought a DVD, made from an old film, of the 1914 Reunion of Confederate Veterans in Jacksonville, FL. (In those days, I think the film industry was big in that area). At this event, over 48,000 actual Confederate veterans gathered. Of course, by this time they youngest would have been in his 60’s. That must have been quite an event. A huge crowd came to support the event. Amazing, absolutely amazing. I wonder if my Confederate ancestor made it to that or similar events. I think I’ll have to write a poem about this film and that time and place in history.

Today will be spent getting ready for my Mobile book-signing marathon. Four grueling days await me, full of nothing but driving and talking about my books. Of course, I also have the university today and a few chores. I also hope to do some writing. Yesterday, I booked a couple of more schools where I will present my program, and I also worked on some more songs. I love mythology and try to incorporate it into my teaching and my writing often. My students have always been fascinated by dragons. Here’s a poem I wrote about dragons.

Y Ddraig Goch 

I am your Welsh dragon,
A symbol carried by Roman legions,
Your real man in a kilt, with
The blood of my Celtic ancestors,
Of Arthur, Merlin, and Llywellyn
Stirring, churning in my blood.
In the Chinese calendar,
I was born in the Year of the Dragon,
Honored in festivals, envied in horoscopes.
I am a dragon, your Welsh red dragon,
And the dragon-title suits me,
For I am fierce, strong,
And born of conflict and mythology.
A creature thought to not exist
By many, even by you in the past, but
You found me, manly and intellectual,
Full of fire and powered by magic,
Feared by men, and dreamed of by women.
Now, whenever you look at a dragon,
I know you will think of me.