Here the speaker is one of the people carrying a parade dragon through the street on the Fourth of July, hidden under its cloth. From outside, onlookers see only the dancers' feet beneath the purple, green and yellow drapes, and they call out "O, the dragon." But inside, the speaker's experience is very different. The costume becomes a private world, and the poem moves from the practical, human details of careful steps and warm air to a feeling of lifting off.
By the last stanza, the dragon is almost a blessing. The group holds it overhead, and the speaker feels both blessed and able to bless others. The mood is joyful, dreamy and a little sacred. Repeated rhymes and echoing words, like "human feet" and "human breath," keep the rhythm light, like dance steps. The poem suggests that putting on a mask can free people from ordinary concerns and let them see the world in a new way.