We start by discarding small belongings
Tiny childhood dreams
Flying imaginary friends to the moon
On a wooden spaceship spoon

Towel and sheet capes
Superhero and villain games
Life as a circus and a stage
All the time in the world
To find your place

Then 
Pressured into practicality
As we continue to grow
Trading dragons to make ends
Swapping stories for trends

Putting away action figures
And fairy tales to fit in with friends 
Seeing things through an adolescent lens

Smoking on the fire escape
We watch our desires burn
As we continue to grow
Dreams become ... You know
Otherworldly
Unaffordable
Unimaginary

For situational reasons
The lack of financial means
For the sake of being practical
We give up on our dreams

Adult life becomes routine
Another cog in the machine
Another pixel on the screen
And those desires
Those dreams
Are finally blown to smithereens

But from what I've seen
Those desires
Those dreams
They live on behind-the-scenes

Is it right to know when to let go
Throwing in the towel 
That used to be a cape
Then standing on the sidelines
Watching dreams evaporate

As long as you're alive 
There's time to reframe
Get close to those childhood dreams again

Reclaim the dragons
The spaceship spoon
Go for zany
Outlandish
Extreme
Who cares what they think its your dream

This is one long ass poem. I hate reading long poems. If you skim over it, I’ll understand. 🙂

© 2025 Samantha Williams. All Rights Reserved.