Royals And Dragons

In this humble little courtyard, I am surrounded by tiny royals, Sultan, Amir, Amira - Ruler, Prince, Princess.

I have watched their people fight and struggle, evil looming large and slinking in through deliberately forgotten alleyways, drenched in shadow, where everyone chooses to look away.

But these bright souls shine on, borne away by their parents, their sisters, brothers, neighbors, friends; set off on a frightful journey, destination unknown, path riddled with terrors they couldn't think to imagine before their homes ceased to mean home.

Here, their castles don't stand proudly high, their garments don't shine purple. They tread through mud, learn to speak around fires insufficient against the cold.

And yet they are protected, not by knives or guns, but by the fierce enduring love of the royals loyal guards.

The tenacity of the dragons, fending off the fiercest foes, fighting hard to protect the future leaders not yet grown, to teach them how to live and love and laugh.

The light of this northern star burns bright and true, even in the very heart of darkness. And here in its brilliant persistence will these tiny royals grow into their own, learning to hear with a gentle hand, their tenderness not forgetting the blade woven between those fingers as they cut their teeth on the bigness that surrounds them.

O these tiny royals will grow, and take their rightful places guiding a scarred land, ready to rule with compassion over this broken world. They are our hope, our future, humanity's next step; and they will have learned of both love and horror to extremes.

May this bring them the balance and the wisdom they need to build a better world than the pestilence we have left them.