The Ladder of Dreams

Poetry | Childhood Innocence

A poem about childish imaginings

Of all the little things past said
Thrown away in moments,
That earned a guilty
Stealth reflection,
Every standstill take a breath
In my head recollected-
A tiny voice I’ll remember
In its childish innocence.

We sat the evening done
Dinner finished
Me and our grandson,
And he asked,
Basking in each other’s
Tired care,
To tell the story
Of how papa, never scared,
Climbed the ladder
Up and up-
Like a papa strong and brave
Until he reached
The clawing, screeching kitten
That eventually
Was saved….

Tonight my eager little
Bright light, eyes aglow,
Was told a tale of nana, papa
Climbing up and further up
Until aloft and jumping off
We flew with cockatoos
Squawking all about our heads
In treetops as we circled
Looping through the clouds
And laughing in the blue.

Believing fully in my choice of lie,
Enthralled with the dream,
The promise of the chance to fly,
A baby wishing to believe,
His little voice rang clear and true:
“Next time you fly
Can I come up the ladder too?”

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