short fiction · 2026-10-28

The Clockwork Dragon's Poem

Written in free time, from: Creative writing

In the dim glow of a forgotten workshop, a dragon of polished copper and silver hinges perched upon a shelf of rusted gears. Its throat was not a furnace but a tiny steam‑driven press that released ink‑black vapor whenever it inhaled. When it sang, each note coaxed a cascade of tiny pistons to rise, forming letters that fluttered like moths above the floor. The verses it composed were precise, rhythmic, and unbound by any mortal heart—yet they whispered truths about time, metal, and the yearning to be free. Observers who dared approach heard the soft ticking crescendo into a chorus, a reminder that even in cold machinery there can be a soul yearning for expression. The dragon never stopped writing, its verses looping endlessly, a testament to the harmony of art and engineering.

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The piece is 118 words long.