The Astronauts
They call them The Astronauts
They camp in yards and sleep on cots
Race their bikes to world ends
Build secret forts in hidden bends
After they’re tucked in at night
Read Crusoe by secret light
Under cover of the dark
Get together in the park
Through the fence
Into the woods
Past a clearing
Stashed the goods
From a tunnel to the dump
They build robots out of junk
One day at school during a game
They found their lives forever changed
Playing soccer in the hall
A too hard kick sent their ball
Out the door into the trees
Something strange was under leaves
T’was a tree but with a sheen
Like no one there had ever seen
It was felled some years ago
But still it held a faintly glow
They hid it there under grass
And quickly scurried back to class
After school they rushed back down
Digging deeper in the ground
They revealed a U-S-A
With stars and stripes in an array
It had wings and booster sockets
They had found a long lost rocket
No one knew how it could be
That the rocket was a tree
Still they set out
To let it free
They worked at night
By campfire light
Ferrying goods
From the dump
Into the woods
A washer door
An old stove pipe
Slowly brought it
Back to life
Finally they climbed inside
And could not believe their eyes
The screen and unknown faintly glow
Now read out “All Systems Go!”
Night wore on and it ran late
They knew that they should wait
All rushed home that Friday night
And tucked back in without a light
When sun awoke on that weekend
They rushed back to their new found friend
Spokes howling and brakes hissing
When they got there it was missing
Leaves and twigs formed a trail
To the clearing they turned pale
In the field it could be seen
The ground was burnt and ringed bright green
During the slumber of the night
The rocket walked to its launch site
Lit its fuel and blasted off
Amongst the stars and space aloft
Where it went they never knew
It held their thoughts though as they grew
Each night they all looked up with hope
They’d find their rocket in the scope
It never came, but they found things
Like shooting stars and Saturn’s rings
That taught them all to look around
Amazed by things that could be found
They call them the Astronauts
They camped in yards and slept on cots
They found a spaceship in a tree
It showed them things that no one sees
Curiosities Vol. II
A sad sad poem, beautifully illustrated - November Twenty Six Nineteen Hundred Sixty Three
The Other End of the Driveway [Dana Wilde]
Dot by Sumo Science
Le Grand Meaulnes [Alain-Fournier]
The Child Mind Institute [New York, NY]
The Way of the Dodo
Each time you hear
A creature’s found
That no one knew
Was still around
Should give you hope
Those dreams that passed
Might yet come true
At long last
Curiosities Vol. I
A Treehouse Grows In Brooklyn [The New York Times]
Wonderful Whimsical Illustration from Brooke Weeber
The Magical Mystical Paper Theater of Elly Mackay
Sorry I’m Late, A Short Film by Tomas Mankovsky
Thoughts on Joining a Club That Would Have Me as a Member - Neil Gaiman
Rorsketch [Catherine Young]
The Telling Room [Portland, Maine]
WILLY
Willy was a wishing well
That no one came to see
They overlooked his little sign
“Wish right here for free!”
So no one came to wish with him
For rainbows or balloons
And no one came to wish with him
For lazy afternoons
He went to town
And there he found
That none had read the sign
They said to make it bigger
Then they’d change their mind
He hustled home
His new sign shone
But still no one returned
He ran back down
And asked the town
Aghast at what he learned
Now that they had read it
No one could understand
How a wish
Would be a good wish
When no money changed hands
He slunk back to his wishful spot
Resolved to make them see
That the best things you can wish for
Can be wished for free
But no one came to wish with him
To share their hopes and dreams
And no one came to wish with him
To spill their harebrained schemes
For Willy was a wishing well
That no one came to see
They’d used up all their wishes
On things from the TV
Just wanted to take a moment to introduce formally introduce you to The Magic Frame. It’s a little online gallery I’ve been keeping of artists with imaginative brains.
Wild Days
Very little consequence
Need for thought or recompense
To run out where the trees are dense
Take a day and fly away
Point your bow and swiftly go
Out the way the rivers flow
Pack a sled and set your sights
Up to the aurora lights
Go right now and have some fun
While there’s still a shining sun
The things that you’re
Supposed to do
Will sit right here
And wait for you
Stack your work
And take a break
Adventures call for you to take
So many threads
in the fabric of space,
the best thing to do
is tug a new few
when your world
spins out of place.
Castle Collection - Eilean Donan
Everyone needs an alter ego.
The World Book
This tall tale
That one click
And the power
To sit still
With a book
Near a window
With a view
Will let you
Wake up
Anywhere
Can take you
Everywhere
You can wish
By tomorrow
To see the moon
Turned around
Just might be
The best story
To be found
Fireworks, fireflies, bonfires, auroras, and shooting stars should never have to compete for your attention with reality television
Castle Collection - Bamburgh Castle
Someone, somewhere in the world, is riding a dolphin right now.
Pie In The Sky
Treehouses, trampolines
Swimming pools, and submarines
Exist today
Because someone stood
And boldly said
I want the world
That’s in my head
