Submarine Dream

When I was a child
I would stay up late -
While everyone slept
I’d be wide awake,

Pretending to explore
The ocean floor
In a small submarine
Called the Imagination

I was the captain
And would order my crew:
Steady ahead
Stay true at 5 knots

As I would carefully plot
A meandering course
Through the fathoms of darkness
Surrrounding my bed

My destination?
I’ll give you one clue –
It was a floating island
of shimmering light
That only appeared
On cloudless nights.

Have you guessed , yet?
No, it wasn’t the moon-
but the moon’s reflection -
Which many have said
was worth more than a chest
of gold dubloons

But the journey was long
And about halfway there
I’d always hear footsteps
Coming up the stairs

And as the last few crickets
Finished their songs
In the brakish light
Of the emerging dawn

I ‘d yawn, and say to myself:
Not now, I’m almost there.
And I’d fall asleep
in my captain’s chair

And I always dreamed
That I was carried aloft
By a pair of white swans
With delicate wings
(in reality, my mothers arms)

And heard a voice that softly said:
Maybe next time my little captain
Maybe some day you’ll reach that island -
As I was gently placed back in my bed.