I Dreamed
Sydney, Australia
2015, Junior, Poetry & Spoken Word
When I was young, a mere babe
I would dream of being a bird
Flying freely, enjoying the air
As I would fly coastward
I would arrive at the beach
Greeted by the sea
Looking around, I could see waves of blue
Washing endlessly
Water clearer than a million crystals,
Skies the bluest of blue
Golden sand, dotted with shells,
‘T was truly a view!
I would glide across the water,
Skimming the tips of the tide
Glancing down, upon the animals
Swimming side by side
But alas, all good things must come to an end
And this is no exception
This dream will end, will turn into dust
And so, ends my date with the ocean
Life continues, the earth still turns
As my burdens caught up to me
But still, I vowed to never forget
My yearning to be free
I have travelled far and wide
Across vast lands and seas
I came, I conquered
I went, I wandered,
Yet still, my dream hasn’t deserted me
Now older and weary of the world
Of disasters, now I know
I look back at how naive I was!
Reality hit a heavy blow
The horrors I’ve seen on my journeys
That I couldn’t begin to explain
The crystal water, golden beaches
Gone were those terrain
In their stead now lay a dirty water
Coloured by our waste
Bottles, bags, caps, hats!?
Cover the entire place
Worst of all, when I see the fauna
Living in that water
Seals are strangled, turtles enslaved
With plastic as their captor
Why, oh why would we do this!?
Have we not any humanity?
Do we not care for those but ourselves?
Those unfortunate in the sea
Try I wish, try I will
To change everyone’s mind
But as always, they listen to what they want
And to this, they are blind
Do they not see the suffering?
Or do they just not care?
Do they not understand?
That this planet, we share.
Why don’t you try this necklace of plastic?
See if that makes you angry
Why don’t you live in this dirty wasteland?
Then maybe, you will finally see
Some rainy days, I would wish of a place
Of wind beating against my wings
Of a place long gone, destroyed by us
A place only in my dreams
I would still envy the freedom of gulls
Flying where they will
But now, no longer the blue sea and beach
But bottles floating still
It’s been long, old friend, far too long
That I’ve been spent hanging onto this dream
Do excuse this sentimental old fool
For yearning of things could been
The day is spent, and the end is nigh
Perhaps ‘tis time to rest
Yes, yes, for both me and my dream
Goodnight, sweet dream, goodnight
Reflection
The poem I wrote is about a child who dreams of being a bird, but then grows up to find that it isn’t as sweet as he imagined. I wrote this because I feel that many people in the modern world do not really care for the environment; many selfishly only think of their own convenience and not the over-arching consequence they are contributing towards. They only think in the present and dwell in the past, but not plan for the future. What inspired me was how indignant I felt at all those carelessly discarding the waste, and not offering a second thought to those animals that they are effectively destroying the lives of.