Before I Go To Bed

In the summer when I go to bed

The sun still streaming overhead

My bed becomes so small and hot

With sheets and pillow in a knot,

And then I lie and try to see

The things I'd really like to be.



I think I'd be a glossy cat

A little plump, but not to fat.

I'd never touch a bird or mouse

I'm much to busy round the house.



And then a fierce and hungry hound

The king of dogs for miles around;

I'd chase the postman just for fun

To see how quickly he could run.



Perhaps I'd be a crocodile

Within the marshes of the Nile

And paddle through the river-beds

With dripping mud-caps on my head.



Or maybe next a mountain goat

With shaggy whiskers on my throat,

Leaping streams and jumping rocks

In stripey pink and purple socks.



Or else I'd be a polar bear

And on an iceberg make my lair;

I'd keep a shop in Baffin Sound

To sell icebergs by the pound.



And then I'd be a wise old frog

Squatting on a sunken log,

I'd teach the fishes lots of games

And how to read and write their names.



An Indian lion then I'd be

And lounge about on my settee;

I'd feed on nothing but bananas

And spend all day in my pyjamas.



I'd like to be a tall giraffe

Making lots of people laugh,

I'd do a tap dance in the street

with little bells upon my feet.



And then I'd be a foxy fox

Streaking through the hollyhocks,

Horse or hound would ne'er catch me

I'm master of disguise, you see.



I think I'd be a chimpanzee

With musical ability,

I'd play a silver clarinet

Or from a Monkey String Quartet.



And then a snake with scales of gold

Guarding hoards of wealth untold,

No thief would dare to steal a pin-

But friends of mine I would let in.



But then before I really know

Just what I'd be or where I go

My bed becomes so wide and deep

And all my thoughts are fast asleep.

Comments & reviews · 11
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lulu_daisy_101 wrote:In the summer when I go to bed

The sun still streaming overhead

My bed becomes so small and hot

With sheets and pillow in a knot,

And then I lie and try to see

The things I'd really like to be.



I think I'd be a glossy cat

A little plump, but not to fat.

I'd never touch a bird or mouse

I'm much to busy round the house.



And then a fierce and hungry hound

The king of dogs for miles around;

I'd chase the postman just for fun

To see how quickly he could run.



Perhaps I'd be a crocodile

Within the marshes of the Nile

And paddle through the river-beds

With dripping mud-caps on my head.



Or maybe next a mountain goat

With shaggy whiskers on my throat,

Leaping streams and jumping rocks

In stripey pink and purple socks.



Or else I'd be a polar bear

And on an iceberg make my lair;

I'd keep a shop in Baffin Sound

To sell icebergs by the pound.



And then I'd be a wise old frog

Squatting on a sunken log,

I'd teach the fishes lots of games

And how to read and write their names.



An Indian lion then I'd be

And lounge about on my settee;

I'd feed on nothing but bananas

And spend all day in my pyjamas.



I'd like to be a tall giraffe

Making lots of people laugh,

I'd do a tap dance in the street

with little bells upon my feet.



And then I'd be a foxy fox

Streaking through the hollyhocks,

Horse or hound would ne'er catch me

I'm master of disguise, you see.



I think I'd be a chimpanzee

With musical ability,

I'd play a silver clarinet

Or from a Monkey String Quartet.



And then a snake with scales of gold

Guarding hoards of wealth untold,

No thief would dare to steal a pin-

But friends of mine I would let in.



But then before I really know

Just what I'd be or where I go

My bed becomes so wide and deep

And all my thoughts are fast asleep.


Hi Lulu ^^ Shina here ;) I'll be your reviewer today.

This is a cute poem ^^ I like it. It is a bit long as everyone else has said, but it may be partially because of all the extra spaces between the lines. Just take those out and I think it would not only be easier to read, but the flow would be better too. Also you don't need to capitalize the first letter of each line ;) You only capitalize if it's the beginning of a sentence or if it's "I" or anything like that.

This poem was definitely not what I expected; it was better. I read the title and thought it would be something okay, decent maybe. It was actually like a gateway to imagination. It has a childish touch to it, which I like ^^ As one of the younger members of YWS, I like keeping the colored vision of life. Keep that view on the world. Shine light on other people, Lulu!

Keep writing ^^ If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, PM me!

~Shina

User avatar
Katemabob
Comment

P. S. Gold star! I liked it!

User avatar
Katemabob
Comment

I like! I like!
Omg I wanna draw pics for this! Maybe I should... one day...

User avatar
clueless
Comment

i think this is absolutely adorable! i would love to see this in a childrens book with a cute picture above it. =]

User avatar
Evolmega Comment

Haha ^^!

Uhm. Well, I agree with the first comment;

It was a bit long, kinda.

But i really like this, its cute and made me smile while reading ^^

Great job ^-^

User avatar
jenni321
Review

You know what this reminded me of? Nursery rhymes mom would read to me before bed and I would later memorize. And I think that's great. It's really cute and child-like, which I hope is what you were aiming for, cause It's really great like that. The rhythm was spot on, just like a nursery rhyme. I agree, this fits right in a children's book with illustrations. Keep writing, you're on the right track!

User avatar
Twinflower
Review

I really enjoyed this--i kept thinking of how cute illustrations would be for it. I think the rhythm and rhyme fit the subject well--seemed sort of dreamy and playful. Great job! :wink:

User avatar
Shallowdepth
Review

This was a very nice poem, reminded me of dreams I had as a child, which I suppose may have been the point lol.

I love your usage of vocabulary and rhyme scheme for the flow of the poem, and might I add you didn't use any words repeatedly. I sometimes have that problem now and again =)

But keep it up. As a novice you have true potential to become an amazing writer ^^

Random avatar
[deleted3]
Comment

This is really good. I didn't stop once in reading it, even with the length. Nice flow, good usage and choice of words.

"In stripey pink"

Loved that. Nice inventiveness

I enjoyed this a lot.

Great poem!

User avatar
Sapphire
Review

Hey! I reviewed the earlier version of this but now I've read this again, I have a few more suggestions (in bold). Punctuation/typo changes are also in bold, but I probably won't comment on them:

In the summer when I go to bed,
The sun still streaming overhead, - Commas at the end of these two lines.
My bed becomes so small and hot,
My sheets and pillow in a knot. - Full stop.


I think here you need another couple of lines, or you need to rework the previous line to have a better transition to the next two.

And then I lie and try to see
The things I'd really like to be.

I think I'd be a glossy cat
A little plump, but not too fat.
I'd never touch a bird or mouse;
I'm much too busy round the house.

And then a fierce and hungry hound,
The king of dogs for miles around.
I'd chase the postman just for fun,
To see how quickly he could run.

Perhaps I'd be a crocodile
Within the marshes of the Nile,
And paddle through the river-bed[s]s[/s]
With dripping mud-caps on my head.

[s]Or[/s] Maybe next a mountain goat
With shaggy whiskers on my throat,
Leaping streams and jumping rocks
In stripey pink and purple socks.

Or else I'd be a polar bear
And, on an iceberg, make my lair;
I'd keep a shop in Baffin Sound
To sell icebergs by the pound. - Need one extra syllable in this line.

And then I'd be a wise old frog,
Squatting on a sunken log.
I'd teach the [s]fishes[/s] tadpoles? lots of games
And how to read and write their names.

An Indian lion then I'd be
And lounge about on my settee;
I'd feed on nothing but bananas
And spend all day in my pyjamas.

I'd like to be a tall giraffe,
Making lots of people laugh.
I'd do a tap dance in the street
With little bells upon my feet.

And then I'd be a foxy fox,
Streaking through the hollyhocks.
Horse or hound [s]would ne'er[/s] could not catch me -
I'm master of disguise, you see.


You can see that, in a few of these stanzas, I've made the same punctuation changes for grammatical reasons. You might decide to vary them though.

I think I'd be a chimpanzee
With musical ability.
I'd play a silver clarinet
Or [s]from[/s] form a Monkey String Quartet.

And then a snake with scales of gold,
Guarding hoards of wealth untold. - I made the same punctuation change again.
No thief would dare to steal a pin,
But friends of mine I would let in.

But then, before I really know
Just what I'd be or where I go,
My bed becomes so wide and deep
[s]And[/s] That all my thoughts are fast asleep.


I tried to edit the last two lines. The 'so' in the second last line seemed to imply a 'that' to me. Alternatively, you could substitute 'so' (a little weak) or rework the last couple of lines.

Again, I like this poem. I think it could be made into an illustrated children's bedtime story. :)

User avatar
Rascalover
Comment

Oh how cute! I really enjoyed it even though it was a little long for my taste, but any who it was well written. You did a great job.



Why is my dog your fig father????
— JazzElectrobass