Big Dragons Never Die

How many ways, though, could you slice through
An old adage concerning dragons
Such as that proverb from the game Go?

Consider the many ways it lies—
Dragons are myths; all living things die.
Myths don’t die as lives die, but they fade

From human faith and then from recall,
Transforming their tales through their long falls.
Even in the tiny world of Go,

The player who has a big dragon
Has not been guaranteed victory.
A metaphor never always holds.

So the terms lie, and the claim lies, too,
However it’s construed. But it’s true.
It’s a valuable strategic rule,

If and when appropriately used.
Where then, in this little purse of lies
Lies the truth? You’d have to play to know.

It’s a handhold somewhere up a cliff,
Like every truth. If you climb that cliff,
You might find it and be glad you did.