For nothing will be impossible with God. Luke 1:37
The Hunting of the Dragon
When we went hunting the Dragon
In the days when we were young,
We tossed the bright world over our shoulder
As bugle and baldrick slung;
Never was world so wild and fair
As what went by on the wind,
Never such fields of paradise
As the fields we left behind:
For this is the best of a rest for men
That men should rise and ride
Making a flying fairyland
Of market and country-side,
Wings on the cottage, wings on the wood,
Wings upon pot and pan,
For the hunting of the Dragon
That is the life of a man.
For men grow weary of fairyland
When the Dragon is a dream,
And tire of the talking bird in the tree,
The singing fish in the stream;
And the wandering stars grow stale, grow stale,
And the wonder is stiff with scorn;
For this is the honour of fairyland
And the following of the horn;
Beauty on beauty called us back
When we could rise and ride,
And a woman looked out of every window
As wonderful as a bride:
And the tavern-sign as a tabard blazed,
And the children cheered and ran,
For the love of the hate of the Dragon
That is the pride of a man.
The sages called him a shadow
And the light went out of the sun:
And the wise men told us that all was well
And all was weary and one:
And then, and then, in the quiet garden,
With never a weed to kill,
We knew that his shining tail had shone
In the white road over the hill:
We knew that the clouds were flakes of flame,
We knew that the sunset fire
Was red with the blood of the Dragon
Whose death is the world’s desire.
For the horn was blown in the heart of the night
That men should rise and ride,
Keeping the tryst of a terrible jest
Never for long untried;
Drinking a dreadful blood for wine,
Never in cup or can,
The death of a deathless Dragon,
That is the life of a man.
C.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) in his poem, “The Hunting of the Dragon.”
G.K. Chesterton’s poem explores a mix of of youthful idealism and adult disillusionment in pursuit of meaning. The dragon seems to point to big challenges that gives us a sense of purpose and adventure.
The poem celebrates the youthful imaginative spirit. The world is a “flying fairyland” and the call to action (“rise and ride”) inspires us.
However, as the hunters get older, the “dragon” becomes a mere “dream,” representing the loss of wonder and the confrontation with the mundane aspects of life.
The deeper meaning suggests that while actual dragon hunting may be an elusive, almost impossible goal, the act of standing against evil and embracing adventure is what gives meaning to a person’s life.
It ultimately emphasizes that facing challenges and believing in the possibility of defeating “dragons” is essential to a meaningful human existence.
Related to generosity, we must not stop pursuing big dreams with God. We must not stop deploying the resources we have with radical faith. And we must not stop trusting Him to give us victory.
Don’t go stale. Go rise and ride. Now! Go slay some dragons, or put pointedly, go accomplish some impossible tasks with God by focusing on what you can do with what you have.