The Monster Under the Bed

Recently I saw a thread that had been screenshotted about the whole concept of children being afraid of the monsters that may be lurking in their rooms. The post was describing how the parent would put their child at ease: ‘Yes, there is a monster under your bed. But he’s a good monster- he’s there to catch the nightmares and get rid of them for you. Yes, there is a creature in your wardrobe, but don’t worry- he just likes the smell of our soap! He’ll make sure your clothes stay neat for you.’ 

Cute little things like that.

So my poem for today is dedicated to the idea of friendly monsters.

***

The Monster under the Bed

Do you remember the time that you felt the fear, Fear to sleep, fear to dream, Fear of what could be hiding beneath, Your bed, waiting, Waiting for the sound of your stillness: The tell-tale sound of your sleep? Lurking in the darkness, Crouching, curling, sneaking, waiting, For the sound of your soft snores, Waiting for the stillness: The tell-tale sound of your sleep?

Do you remember what you thought it might look like, Was it dark, scaly, ridged, huge or small? Could it squeeze into the tightest of spaces, Then suddenly loom rather tall? Did it have six glowing red eyes, And yellowing teeth like knives? Would it groan with the rumble of thunder, Or scratch at your floor while it waited, For the sound of your restful stillness: The tell-tale sound of your sleep?

What if it wasn’t a monster at all- But a gallant creature of sleep? What if it was the one that guided your thoughts, Leading your dreams, plotting the scenes That you’d experience that night- A wondrous sight. Riding a wild sea on a pirate ship, Hunting treasure, swimming in the dark matter Of the universe, given by this creature, Who lurks in the darkness and waits Under your bed for the stillness: The tell-tale sound of your sleep?

What if it gets hurt to know that you fear it? When your feet dangle over the bed, You worry it’ll strike out and grab them, But really it’ll reach out to catch you- Thinking you’ll fall off and waken, Missing the spectacular adventure it made for you, Weaving the things you love the most into a dream, A world just for you. And it can’t wait for the sound of your stillness: The tell-tale sound of your sleep, So you can finally join it and dream.

***

http://www.serrenwrites.wordpress.com

#SerrenWrites

#Poetry #Friendly #Fear #dreams #Monster #MonsterundertheBed #SerrenWrites #Sleep #Creature #Childrens #APoemaDay #Adventures

The Star and the Moon- Conversation Poem

I tried something new in writing it, I was even told by someone it reminded them of Dr Seuss. Was there ever a better compliment?

***

The Star and the Moon

A stray star wondered the universe alone, Feeling lost and his heart losing its light, When it saw a moon with the face of a man, And begged him to help set him right.

“Oh, my dear star, what a surprise this is, It’s been so long since something came near, While the sun warms my face, he’s so far away, That it becomes quite lonely to be here.”

The star looked around and saw the red glow of the sun, Indeed, it seemed so far to the eye, “What’s this planet right there, between you and he? Seems a shame to ignore what’s nearby.”

For a moment the face in the moon looked sad, And the star worried he’d spoken wrong, ‘Till the man in the moon gazed back at the earth, And admitted his pain from so long.

“Yes, friends we were, companions all night and all day, I followed it as it circled the sun, But now it has turned inwards, towards little humans, Though I follow it still, my dear friend has gone.”

The star strained his eyes to look at the Earth, And see these ‘humans’ to which he referred, “ARGH!” it cried out, “You mean those little bugs? For the earth to ignore you for them is absurd!”

“True, they’re pests, let me reveal more about them, They pollute and they scar him with war, They take more than they need, and kill other creatures in greed, It hurts me to see earth so sore.”

The star turned to the moon with an expression of horror, Not believing how the guests treat their host, “Can’t something be done? Why not just ask the sun, To purify this planet from what destroys it the most!”

The man in the moon gave a small smile, And watched the planet with great care, “Yes they do wrong, some even cause pain just for fun, But I too have fond love for the creatures that live there.”

The star seemed aghast, it must be a farce! How could one love things that show so much hate? “I don’t understand, pray, let me know more, What is it about these creatures you rate?”

The moon pointed to a mark on its face, a small print shaped quite oddly, “They came to me once, so mesmerised, excited, amazed, I’ve watched them ever since, seen love and learning within them, That over time, my opinion quite changed.”

The star watched below, and focussed quite hard, Watching some of these ‘humans’ live life in his sight, He saw a forest being saved, and storm-broken homes being remade, And his own heart shone again to see good in the earth done right.

***

http://www.serrenwrites.wordpress.com

#SerrenWrites

#Poetry #TheStarandtheMoon #Conversation #world #DrSeuss #Earth #Loneliness #Moon #creativewriting #Humans #SerrenWrites #Star #Childrens #nature #APoemaDay #childrensreading #Writing

The World Goes By

I created this when I was visiting a relative in Canada. While I was there, I read a book called The End of Absence by Michael Harris. It’s a wonderful book discussing the current age of technology and social media, and the relationship we now have with them. It really struck me, so I ordered a copy for myself and ended up reflecting further upon the topic. These reflections then created this poem.

I find myself, if writing a rhyming poem, tending towards the AABB pattern. I seldom branch out into the ABAB format as it feels a tad more unnatural to me. Therefore, when this composition occurred to me, I made sure to write it in the ABAB so as to practice this rhyming pattern and see if I could make it feel a little more natural.

***

The World Goes By

The world goes by: day, night, day, The people pass- oblivious- heads bent To watch a glowing rectangle they’re trained to obey. Thousands of interactions came and went.

A seat to the side: the perfect watch post To see these ghosts gliding by, blank-faced. A civilization missing places they’d love the most, If they only looked up and saw, smiled and chased…

… Dreams and wishes, longings and love. How much will we set aside for a cyber life Where we no longer see in 3D, see above The glowing rectangle that took that life.

Look up, look high, see the light, Feel the warmth, heal your eyes, As the sky changes from day to night, You’ll love the absence and see how time flies.

#Poetry #cyberlife #world #WorldGoesBy #MichaelHarris #Canada #creativewriting #SerrenWrites #socialmedia #poem #APoemaDay #time #TheEndofAbsence #rhyming #Writing