Page 13 - eMuse Vol.9 No.06_Classical

Bad Dream

1st Kid: Do you pray before

I don’t know how you feel, but it is sure this way with me, eating?
a phone call at 2.00 a.m. makes me cranky as can be.
I don’t like being rudely torn from my peaceful slumber;
and I hate it when they say, “Hey, I dialed the wrong number.”
On the other hand, I find, I might go into a spin. 2nd Kid: No. We’re
when I think about the places my family could be in. Australians
I try hard not to panic or to give in to alarm
and I refuse to think about who could have come to harm. and besides,
By the time I reach the phone in my agitated state,
I find my emotions torn, between anxiety and hate. Mum’s a good
The last time that this happened to me, just the other day,
As I leapt from my bed, I planned a few curt things to say. cook.

I lifted the receiver, hardly in a mood of bliss,
and I blasted that rude caller with, “Who the hell is this?”
And then the tearful reply I got still tugs at my heart,
“Grandad, I had a bad dream!” Her whole world had blown apart.
She was only five years old but she called me on the phone.
She told me all her troubles as I quickly changed my tone.
I heard details of her nightmare. The worst she ever had.
To add to her dilemma she couldn’t wake Mum or Dad.
Mum and Dad slept the sleep that every parent well knows.
They had collapsed from pure exhaustion — you know how it goes.
Mum had sort of muttered something like, “Just go back to bed”.
So our little darling thought “Well, I’ll ring Grandad instead!”
I could not do much more than lend a sympathetic ear.
I wished to hold her in a hug and wipe away a tear.
Somehow it didn’t matter for I knew that I was there
only for reassurance and to let her know I care.
From disturbance of our phone call Mum finally awoke.
I explained what had happened and we shared a little joke. Dusty Swag Awards
Then Mum, she took over. The situation well in hand.
I was now redundant here — just the way that Nature planned. The Dusty Swag Awards for written
And I have no complaint with that, for as it seems to me,
Grandad is a special job — nothing else I’d rather be poetry were established in 2000 by
and what a priceless memory. One I’ll always keep Patron Rex Tate to encourage poets
closest to the heart — it only cost a little sleep. and storytellers to record the stories of
© Wally (the Bear) 5/01
Australia, its unique landscape and its
Don’t Sell Australia Out unsung heroes. These awards are being
reopened in 2020 and entries are invited
from Poets and Storytellers of all ages.

For conditions and entry form link to
https://www.abpa.org.au/events.html

Take time to check the product’s origin. or contact Christine Middleton Christine.
Spend a little more — mi@bigpond.com
it will be a saving in the long run.
May 2020 eMuse 13