Antics of Dream Flyers
To all dream adventurers, especially frequent flyers
Opening Lines
Fantastic
Eric’s become as expansive and awesome as a Macy’s balloon at high noon, parading on Thanksgiving Day.
Emphatic
Above the world, without a care, James is flying without wings. He flits over to see his dog Fritz, Rolling and pawing on air.
Gymnastic
Lynette’s birthday gift was a canopy bed. She’d never dreamed of such a thing — ruffles all around, pink satin overhead!
Apoplectic
Lensie, when angry, hits the ceiling. Lensie, really mad, goes through the roof and rises like a helium balloon.
Panoramic
Yvonne’s dad said, “Goodnight.” Her mom said, “Sleep tight.” Brother Bobby warned her, “Don’t let the bedbugs bite.”
Cryptic
Richard is an airplane spotter, out in every kind of weather — he knows aircraft by sound and by sight.
Angelic
Lisa’s mother kisses her, whispering, “My little angel . . . when you’re asleep.” Lisa isn’t deep asleep, and the idea pleases her.
Acrobatic
I guess everyone wants to run away and be a circus performer some day. But I don’t run, I become one —
Aeronautic
Gene remembers a special summer when his mother went away for a few days to get him a baby brother, and he went to his grandma’s and slept on a cot . . .
Galactic
“About my flying saucer,” says Beth, “it has eyes, ears, nose, and mouth,
and retractable legs with toes for soft landings wherever It goes.
Romantic
Ann at her window wishes upon a star. Then, presto-change-o, she becomes a star.
Hectic
Tracy went flying one night, soaring at tremendous height, when both his engines conked out —
Frantic
Amy and her whole family — Dad, Mom, Lisa, Jim, and Billy — were at a carnival, swinging so high their breaths became steam.
Anesthetic
John remembered having his tonsils out, and hoped it all had meaning. At the clinic they gave him a shot and some special gas for dreaming.
Comic
“It was like this,” says Debbie, “I’m taking a bath with lots of bubbles, so many you can’t see my body, and I feel light and free —
Horrific
Keith says, “Nightmares can be very scary. So it’s necessary to change the plot (sometimes a little, sometimes a lot) and arrange for a happily ever after.
Prophetic
Melissa’s met the Sandman while floating in a dreamland. But now a witch commands: You must flee . . . Now fly!
Heroic
Scott tells of beginning a truce: “I’m spinning through cold, dark space. Will I ever touch ground?
Dedication
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀To all dream adventurers,
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀especially frequent flyers
Acknowledgement
I cheerfully acknowledge the elementary school students who illustrated their dream travels and cued me about their stories when I visited their schools in the Poets-in-the-Schools Program. Written cues ranged from thought bubbles, as in “Acrobatic,” to a run-on sentence, as in “Aeronautic.” I made notes of oral cues and kept true to the students’ word choices (though not always to their grammar) when writing the corresponding poems. I thank the parents who gave permission to use these materials for a book I planned to compile. That family names are not given is due to the children’s practice of signing papers for the homeroom teacher with their first name only.
Concordance
A concordance of poem titles within Antics of Dream Flyers, together with the poem’s action.
Acrobatic
⠀⠀⠀⠀balancing
Aeronautic
⠀⠀⠀⠀speeding
Anesthetic
⠀⠀⠀⠀floating
Angelic
⠀⠀⠀⠀just be
Apoplectic
⠀⠀⠀⠀steaming
Comic
⠀⠀⠀⠀ascending
Cryptic
⠀⠀⠀⠀spotting
Emphatic
⠀⠀⠀⠀meditating
Fantastic
⠀⠀⠀⠀parading
Frantic
⠀⠀⠀⠀swinging
Galactic
⠀⠀⠀⠀traveling
Gigantic
⠀⠀⠀⠀soaring
Gymnastic
⠀⠀⠀⠀bouncing
Hectic
⠀⠀⠀⠀flying
Heroic
⠀⠀⠀⠀apologizing
Horrific
⠀⠀⠀⠀escaping
Panoramic
⠀⠀⠀⠀migrating
Prophetic
⠀⠀⠀⠀fleeing
Romantic
⠀⠀⠀⠀dancing
Backstory
Early in 2016 I had a project that required more than editing. Ruby, a 92-year-old woman and last year’s Silver Queen at the State Fair, wanted notes and news clippings extracted from a jumble in several boxes and organized into a memoir.
Following that, I was prompted to deal with my own boxes of notes — 18 boxes of dream notes over a period of 45 years. I made two starts, but came to a screeching halt on both.
To get the creative juices flowing, I assembled the book Antics of Dream Flyers, based on offerings of 3rd and 4th graders when I was in the Poets-in-the-Schools Program. That was fun, and I hoped the light-heartedness would sustain me when I resumed efforts on my own manuscript.
My enthusiasm didn’t last long. I wanted fun, not an obsession, and put away the materials between Halloween and December 1st. It was my eldest son who encouraged me and gave me a different point of view for the next version of the book.
Three versions and five years later, after countless revisions, those 18 boxes have become Dream Encounters.
