Woman, Man, Child—we have been at war with Dragons for centuries. A Dragonslayer is a hero.

But I was raised by Buddhists who do not believe in the myth of aggression. Instead, we cultivate maitri. And so:

Treat your Dragon like your best Friend.

When I feel the stress
it’s like another being, inside me—a dragon, breathing fire
it yearns to come out of my mouth in swears, in growls, in hot anger, in flashes of light
But I breathe into the dragon, as it flies forth
and my mind re-engages
and I sigh, sigh, sigh, sigh, sigh, sigh

breathe, breathe, let go, breathe—

But I do not let go of the wisdom of the dragon, for its fire has insight
nor do I let go of the cause that rousted my dragon from its nest
no: I learn from my dragon, and do not make the same mistake twice.
no: I merely practice taming my dragon, so that we can enjoy one another’s company—you know:
go to cafes and cross our legs and drink espressos with little silver spoons, or go for a run together, a funny pair are we,

or go to yoga class, where I have to remind him not to stare at the ladies—yoga ladies aren’t so sure about dragons (though they love unicorns)
or enjoy breakfast together, reading our papers and sharing news with one another (he prefers sports; me, politics)
At night, now, we can have a quiet moment together. We can go out on my balcony and breathe, together, looking out at my snowy town’s yellow lights

I love my dragon.
I want to be able to spend time with him every day.
Instead of having to leave him at home in a cage. I want to be able to trust my dragon to have a good time without burning everything up.