Drakestail Sea: A Villanelle by Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé

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Drakestail Sea: A Villanelle
by Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé

The script of the lucky penny
The script of checking both faces
The script of surrender and sacrifice

The script of a quacking consciousness
The script of ruffled feathers
The script of an ambush by the fox

The script of the well at Nordenau
The script of the ladder lowering itself
The script of jagged walls of slate

The script of climbing into a bonfire
The script of diving into Alme Valley
The script of waterfowl riding the rapids

The script of making it to the Baltic Sea
The script of Dutch Hookbill lookalikes
The script of the swarm of hornets

The script of death and the purpling
The script of suffering fools and angels
The script of the coin in Answer to Job
The script of two bronze bells tolling


(This poem takes the French folk tale “Drakestail” as its premise. The book Answer to Job was authored by Carl Jung in 1952.


Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé has edited more than ten books and co-produced three audio books, several pro bono for non-profit organizations. Trained in book publishing at Stanford University, with a theology masters (world religions) from Harvard University and fine arts masters (creative writing) from the University of Notre Dame, he is the recipient of the Tom Howard High Distinction Award, Tupelo Press Poetry Project Honorable Mention, Hiew Siew Nam Academic Award, and Singapore Internationale Grant. An interdisciplinary artist, Desmond also works in clay, his commemorative pieces housed in museums and private collections in India, the Netherlands, the UK and the US.