I was always told to play with dolls
and other pink-frilly, girly things
but that was no adventure
so,
I played with bows and arrows
catapults and guns
rode my bike and
shot all the bad guys
because that
(to me)
was excitement.
We were never read to
No bed time stories for us
real life was the nightmare anyway
but I was always a dreamer
and at night in that twilight time
another world existed between
half awake and dreams
A whole different reality.
Everything lived there
monsters in their lair
monsters in your hair
creeping
crawling
scratch the itch and giggle
at their silly faces
or maybe shoot a few if they
dare try to eat you
but always remember
NEVER, EVER, NEVER
let your foot dangle over
the edge of the bed
or,
those monsters that live
beneath it can grab your ankle
drag you under
and,
you may never be seen again.
~*~
© Daydreamertoo *All rights reserved
Shared with dVersePoets Poetics: Maurice Sendak The Wild Things
It sounds like we traveled similar roads in childhood. Imagination was a wonderful place to escape life’s barbs. Well, except for that monster under the bed. Oh, yeah, I knew he was there and just waiting for me to get too close to the edge.
Great write.
Absolutely love this, Bren. I use to only get so close and then take a running start so I could jump into bed and avoid getting snagged by whatever was lurking underneath it and yes, no foot dangling allowed. 🙂
http://reneejustturtleflight.com/2012/05/13/she-never-told-me/
Everything is great about this , those things under the bed so scary
Come to think of it, monsters are convenient punching bags to establish some discipline. It may not be the best way but it is effective immediately.This was before. Now youngsters play around with monsters in their touchscreen games. These turn out to be fun things to them! Great write Bren!
Hank
Totally get this – as a child real life (well- as an adult too) can be nightmarish- this just shows the importance of escape and adventure- sometimes you gotta go inside to escape what’s outide….I know I did, and still do!
Very well done!
This is great. It’s well beyond a tribute, it’s an ode to imagination. Outstanding verse. Thanks
i was never scared of monsters. i lived in New York City, there were real things to be scared about
when do we stop being a child
Well-written, pleasant reading. I love how you tie childhood with your fondness of dreaming.
That’s it, I’m making the husband check under the bed tonight! Love the semi-creepy feeling mixed with wistfulness in this poem.
The monsters wouldn’t drag me away they were to scared of me. Or maybe it was the dog..haha
I was one of those who would rather play cowboys and injuns than with barbie and skipper and ken, too! Loved this.
I used to get a running start and jump onto my bed to avoid having my ankles grabbed. 🙂
I like this: “scratch the itch and giggle”
ha…yeah def dont dangle the foot lol…you never know just what might grab ahold….twilight is a particularly magical time of day as well….we used to play many of hte same things…we had woods out back and lived there most days and a graveyard as well which conjured all kinds of crazy thoughts….
Yes, I will keep my feet tucked under my blankets and never let them eat me….Fun adventure Bren, I enjoyed this ~
Fantastic!!! I had a vampire under my bed forever! I think my parents carrying me back and forth lasted about a week…then somewhere in my imagination I had to eventually slay the beast! Awesome play with the prompt 🙂
‘real life was the nightmare anyway’ I hear you on FM. This is fantastic, thank you!
Oh I could have written this very poem. Real life can be the nightmare, in some homes…….I also was terrified by the monsters under the bed…….and by the ones that might chase me up the stairs in the big old creaky spooky houses we lived in. Loved this one, Bren.
Darling Bre,
Thank you for always so faithfully noting my entries at OD but I am not as prolific as I used to be but you still are my friend! I really like this and it made me smile. Yep, for me it was guns, Annie Oakley, stick horses, and dreams. My childhood was good but I lived in my mind, as my daughter says I still do, and it was filled with horses, fairytales, magick, and wondrous worlds. I was a tomboy. I love your words, dear old friend, (not that you are old) but we have a long time frienship. Many blessings, Freewind
I enjoyed the ending: letting your foot hang over the edge of the bed! I worried about that too. Something could be under there waiting to bite or pull. Yikes, I hadn’t thought of that in a LONG time.
Sad there were no bedtime stories. I remember running to the bathroom in the middle of the night then back to my bed as fast as I could, jumping in from far enough away so those monsters wouldn’t pull me under. = )
nicely done… thanks for sharing a little of yourself… I knew there was a reason not to let my foot dangle out of the bed
yeah…you def. NEVER EVER know what’s under your bed..smiles..i never played much with dolls as well…we were a cool and wild gang of kids where i lived and we had much fun with shooting all the bad guys as well…smiles
Personally I always sorta wanted to be dragged under by the monsters, I always thought it would be a bit more interesting than boring old bedtime.
Absolutely adored this piece!