Discussion Précis by Dr. Jeff Spivak

The Knight, the Virgin and the Dragon

Knight-errant appears on the scene, 
Without fear and beyond reproach,
Out of nowhere, fully formed,
One with the earth, the forest and the sky.
He knows horses, brings down bridges,
He judges men and, playing dice with death,
Sets out on a quest to slay the Dragon.

Arriving at the mouth of a cave,
He’s greeted by the Wise Woman,
The Seer and the Mother of her people.
She reads his palm and, satisfied,
She thrusts his prize upon him:
A maiden rescued from the Dragon.

The maiden, virginal Maria,
Vulnerable and beautiful,
Just coming into blossom,
Holding out the promise of fruitfulness.

She sees the Knight, and she is his,
Their union sealed with a True Love’s Kiss.
In his embrace, her dreadful wound is healed,
In his embrace, her virginity is restored.
Their lovemaking moves the earth,
Their whole life lived in a day.

The Old Wise Woman, next,
Leads Knight and Maiden through the woods,
To meet her friend, the Old Wise Man,
Who, though deaf, can hear better than the young.
And there and then the lot is cast:
The Old Wise Man enlists to aid the shining Knight,
To help the vile Dragon slay,
And end his people’s sorry plight.

Back in the cave, the Traitor,
Worn out, drunken and despised,
Broods on in sullen silence,
By fear of the Dragon overcome.
Though of his treachery aware, The Knight,
Has not the heart to spill the poisoned blood,
And lets him live.

As snow falls, the battle is joined.
Surrounded and outnumbered,
Among the rocks that crown a barren hill,
The Old Wise Man takes his last stand,
And, fearing nor foe nor death,
Falls like an ancient oak falls,
Magnificent in his demise.

The final hour arrives. The Knight,
Rides out to meet the Dragon’s fiefs,
Sword drawn and flashing in the light,
He rides to glory and destruction,
To lay his life and let his Lady live.