The Dirigible Balloon
Poetry for Children

Moonshine

Listen to Huw read his poem ...
Why are you asleep again,
Grandad?


Just being a poet, son.

What does a poet do,
Grandad?


You’re supposed to dream a lot,
take care of cats
and all the little things
the moon leaves behind.

What little things?

Have you ever wondered
what would happen if forests
grew beneath the ground
and moles sang serenades?

Or a chorus of fish
flew up and perched on trees
catching insects on the fin –
walked tall, built huts
and sat around their fires
inventing boats and barbecues –
as they told their tales
of whales and sharks
and the barbs that rained
from high above to hook them?

What would happen, Grandad?

Well, in the half-light
of summer’s coming, the wind
might just blow backwards
and water flow uphill to the place
where the world’s first flower
met the last and wept.

About the Writer


Huw Gwynn-Jones

Huw comes from a line of prize-winning poets in the Welsh bardic tradition, but until his recent retirement to Orkney, had never written a line himself. His work has appeared in Amethyst Review’, ‘Marble Poetry’, ‘One Hand Clapping’, ‘Drawn to the Light Press’ and ‘Dreich Magazine’. His debut pamphlet ‘The Art of Counting Stars’ will be published later in 2021.