The Dirigible Balloon
Poetry for Children

Story Nights

The thing about a story
read to you in bed,
is the way it keeps on going,
even when you’re sleeping,
in the world within your head

Whoever’s in the story
lets you come inside
to join what they are doing -
it’s even more exciting
than a roller-coaster ride.

You won’t believe the places
and characters I’ve known
because of bedtime reading,
its doorway into dreaming,
or the sights that I’ve been shown.

I’ve ridden in a space ship
way beyond the moon,
been under-sea exploring,
and flown into the morning
in a dirigible balloon.

Every night’s adventure
takes me somewhere new -
and I’m amazed on waking
that I’ve been soundly sleeping
but so much has happened too.

About the Writer


Kate ONeil

Kate O’Neil lives in the Illawarra region of NSW and writes poetry for children and adults. Her poems appear in magazines such as The NSW School Magazine and The Caterpillar, and anthologies by Roger McGough, Roger Stevens, Matt Goodfellow, Mandy Coe and The Emma Press. In 2018 her ‘Cool Poems: the Kate O’Neil Reciter’, was published by Triple D Books Wagga Wagga.