figure of speech

he was a figure
of speech
and figured
out a way
to mold
artistic
characters
from
clay

one
was a
multicoloured
dragon
with dogs
legs and
a cats
face
that glowed
once
in the dark

(maybe twice)

another
was a soldier
of fortune
who looked
like all the accidents
of the world
had crashed
right
on top of
his head

his favorite
of course
being a walking
talking
oxen-frog
that could speak
backwards
if necessary
and sometimes
it was