I found an old book project from 2003. Thought I would share it; and as always, rewrite it in the form of a shorter poem:
“Beautiful Dreamer” by ~15-year-old Alexa
I knew a boy who loved to dream
of the moon, stars, and pounds of ice cream.
But sometimes he dreamed he could soar through the air
and go to the places that no one would dare.
He wanted to fly with the birds in a V,
over the ocean and past the great sea.
But the problem with this is he didn’t have wings.
So he couldn’t do any, any such things.
He decided to try and make wings of his own.
So he worked day and night, worked his hands to the bone.
When he was finally finished he smiled with glee.
“It is time for me to fly,” he said happily.
He decided to show his mother the wings he had made,
but all she did was talk about being afraid
and about what she would do if he were to get hurt,
bruised on the knees and ripping his shirt.
But the little boy would never give in
because his dreams meant that he always would win.
So he sneaked to the roof when the house was asleep
and off he would jump in a large, long leap.
He took off in the air where he planned to stay,
but nothing that night went just his way.
He crashed to the ground with a thundering thump
and he slowly got up with a black and blue bump.
He went to his mother and cried many tears.
She had warned him of what had been part of her fears.
Dreams may come true, but this little boy found out
that dreams are what magic and love is about.
Twelve Years Later…Written today, about Twelve Years Later
I knew a boy who used to dream
of the moon, stars, and pounds of ice cream:
and like the moon, he phased;
like the stars, he shone too bright;
and like the ice cream,
he melted,
a puddle of rocky road in the shape of a heart.
But melting was an art:
He came back from the ground one time, then two…hundred—
fall after fall,
year after year,
roof child to grounded adult,
his ice cream heart wrapped up in bits of cone.
And when left on his own, he guided:
Polaris rising in the evening sky,
wings so big he couldn’t fly,
but he could jump
to heights so great the moon would envy,
shadows dancing in delight.
And there he went into the night:
the image of dreams in cosmic shadow puppets:
a boy transformed into a great bird,
a phoenix,
a gryphon,
casting shadows over his childhood.
Of this, he never stopped dreaming.