MARBLEWICK
DRAGONS DIE
dragons die. their names don't.
the dragons fell. the eggs waited. one of them just hatched.
— hatch them. name them. carry them home —
- hi. you cracked your shell.
- you're really here. you actually—
- sorry. let me— hi.
- i'm peggs. i was a lil guy when the Hush came. an egg, almost.
- i hid as many of the others as i could carry.
- every shell i kept warm could be the next marblewick.
- could be. could not be. that’s the deal.
- you fly. we find out.
— peggs, the hold
the hold, the reach, the long table
a shell cracks. the bell rings once.
you fly out. peggs watches the horizon.
the reach is plain. picker, bog thing, old nurse.
their breath is who they were going to be.
the long table keeps a chair for everyone.
home before the hearth goes cold.