A Poem About Dreams...

...and how important it is to hold on to them.

Dream Snatcher

One night, I heard a creaking sound,
Opened my eyes- nothing was found.
But I felt dizzy the next day-
Something had been taken away.
I got up, sat to have some toast,
Daydream about all I love most;
I tried to dream with all my might
But realized something wasn't right.
No dreams would come into my head-
My dream ability was DEAD.
I told my friend about my plight,
And the strange creaking in the night.
He shook his head with great dismay-
'The Dream-Snatcher's been round your way.'
'The Dream-Snatcher? Not heard of him!' 
'Prepare for a story most grim.
He has no shape, cannot be seen
And does something so very mean-
Creeps in at night, and through your ear,
Sucks out your dreams, and blows in FEAR!
You then can't dream when you've awaken,
With no clue of what's been taken.
Instead of dreams, you're left with DOUBT-
Once that's in, it's hard to get out!'
'What do I do?' I cried in shock,
'How do I stop this dreaming block?'
My friend replied 'We must begin
By not allowing doubt to WIN.
In order to keep him at bay,
You must shout "DOUBT! Please go away!
I want to dream! I want to hope!
I believe there is an endless scope
To what I can do and achieve,
All I have to do is BELIEVE!"'.
I copied this, with one last shout:
'NO ROOM FOR YOU IN MY LIFE, DOUBT!'
'Good' said my friend, 'now tell me WHY
You can now bid this doubt goodbye.'
'Because I'm ambitious and smart,
Because I have an honest heart,
There's nothing standing in my way,
I have one life- let's seize the day!'
I felt a tingle in my brain
And in my heart- was I insane?
My friend said 'By your flushed red cheek
I see DOUBT's started to feel weak!'
'But,' I said, 'what if I fail?'
'FAIL's a word you EXHALE
Out of your head, out of your life,
Believing that word ends in strife.
Passion and the will to succeed
Are the two things in life you need.'
My heart began to tingle more
In a way it hadn't before,
'Wow!' said my friend, 'look at your face!
It's red! It's smiling! Now there's space
Where doubt once was, for DREAMS instead!
Dream away, pretty, fill your head!'
If a Dream-Snatcher comes tonight
To snatch your hopes right out of sight,
There's a friend who sometimes seems shy
But when you need him, is close-by,
called CONFIDENCE- Conny for short,
I'll leave you with this final thought-
Dream BIG, dream with limitless height-
Meet that Dream-Snatcher with a fight
When he comes for your dreams tonight.

Picture Source: Dream Reality Control blog

New Things I've Learned About Melbourne- And Life- This Week...

1) The TV advert-jingles are very catchy...I actually recognised a few from last year. Although perhaps this says more about me than the jingles...

2) Masterchef is the best programme on television, bar none.

3) Bondi Rescue is not, but is strangely compelling.

4) Yarraville has an awesome cinema. Small, local cinemas are a dying breed; they need to be brought back.

5) Volunteering in an 'op-shop' (charity shop) allows you to work alongside- and meet- an incredible range of people. It also allows an insight into the puzzling world of bizarre bric-a-brac.

6) Houses in the Melbourne may look lovely- one storey, white-wooden slates, intricate metal gates- but are all BLOODY FREEZING. Although I think my perception- and many Aussies' perceptions- of 'cold' may be slightly skewed by British and Canadian standards.

7) The State Library of Victoria is the best library I have ever been in. Yes, I know that even having favourite libraries automatically qualifies me as a geek.

8) BYO (bring your own) alcohol restaurants should exist more around the world. Same goes for self-twist beer caps.

9) You can definitely tell the difference between shop-bought eggs, and those laid by home-raised chickens. Learned this after enjoying two eggs freshly laid by the hens of Patrick's boss, Nick; we are feeding his hens and cats (Pippa and Luca) while Nick and his wife Wendy are on holiday for the next 2 weeks.

10) If you let a cat out in a garden with aforementioned chickens, it will not necessarily- as formerly presumed- eat them straight away. Saying that, have not checked Pippa for an hour or so.

11) The Dalai Lama comes across as a warm, educated and funny man. Quotation of the week, after the female Australian Prime Minister refused to meet him for fear of offending China: "If your prime minister has some kind of spiritual interest then of course my meeting would be useful...otherwise, I have nothing to ask him. Also, you see, there's no point to seek advice from him. [Pause as an aide whispers something to him]. Oh, her."

First Few Days Back in Brrr-illiant Melbourne...

  Five days in Melbourne, and it feels like I never left! I arrived into Melbourne at 9pm on Wednesday, feeling fuzzy, dozy, hungry (the 'beef' and 'chicken' plane food looked- and tasted- decidedly suspicious) and probably stinking a little of sweat and stale-air. Lucky Patrick. God only knows what dreadful sight greeted him at 5am on Thursday morning, when he had to shake me awake for the 4 hour drive to Corowa, NSW, a little bush-town right on the border of New South Wales and Victoria. Think I was mentally halfway between England and Australia until our Maccy D's breakie stop; a Bacon and Egg McMuffin has never tasted so good. After that, I slowly woke up into the real world, and could actually appreciate the bush-scenery either side of the road- chalky-grey mist dancing over the straw-like fields, made all the more eerie by the rising pink sun behind it.
   It was certainly interesting to get an insight into Patrick's engineering work, as well as everyday life in a tiny rural town; I'm happy to say it wasn't a 'local town' for 'local people'! Luckily the sun was shining, so I could just sit by the river and really get stuck into House Rules by Jodi Picoult- a novel about a crime-obsessed Asberger's boy, Jacob, who becomes the main suspect for a girl's murder. This is my first of Picoult's novels that I've read, and I'd highly recommend it; her technique of writing from different characters viewpoints works really well here, leaving out enough information between the narratives to keep you guessing whether Jacob actually committed the crime.While I'm on the subject, quick shout-out for another fantastic book I've read recently- One Day by David Nicholls. Two fantastic protagonists, genuinely funny writing...please read it!!
   Anyway, I'm veering off topic- always get carried away when talking about books! We're staying in the suburb of Yarraville right now, thanks to my old boss, Matt, and his lovely housemate Alicia. I'm really liking Yarraville so far; it seems like a great place to live...only 15 minutes from the city by train, and with its own Irish pub and cinema! What more could you ask for? Sali, Alicia and Matt's rottweiler, is adorable as well...never seen a dog with such kind eyes (especially when lasagna's about!)
   Right now, I'm chilling out in the only non-chilly place in Melbourne- the State Library of Victoria (for those of you who are also my Twitter friends, yes I used that joke on there as well...the furnace-like warmth in here is zapping any original words from my brain!). I knew Melbourne was going to be cold, so I don't know why it came as a shock to me...brr, brrr and brr again. Still very happy to be here though, and to be able to do all those things I either couldn't, or felt guilty about before...like eating Eggs Benny on a Sunday, before heading to Southbank for a lazy-day of cider drinking. Bliss. The re-discovery of Melbourne doesn't stop here...watch this space!