The Dirigible Balloon
Poetry for Children

The Bedtime Boat

You’re all tucked up in your cosy bed,
While the day’s adventures fill your head,
Your mind slips into a slumber, deep...
Where do you go when you've gone to sleep?

You climb aboard the Bedtime Boat,
And with a wave, begin to float...

You drift off to the Land of Dreams,
Where flowers, fields and flowing streams,
And trees with leaves of vibrant green,
Create a gorgeous, dreamy scene.

You flutter high like a butterfly,
Curl-up on a cloud in the painted sky.
A blue bird sings you a lullaby,
As you yawn and watch the world go by.

There are dinosaurs here, and unicorns too,
Whatever your sleeping-self wants to be true;
Marshmallow mountains and fountains of milk;
Buttercups spun from the softest of silk.

Then under the light of a silvery moon,
You reach for the string of a shiny balloon...
You drift down slowly to the ground,
As light as air, you make no sound.

The Bedtime Boat is heading home,
You board amid the frothing foam...

You leave behind the Land of Dreams;
The flowers, fields and flowing streams;
The trees with leaves of vibrant green;
Goodbye, gorgeous, dreamy scene!

Where do you go when you've gone to sleep?
When your mind slips into a slumber, deep...

You stay tucked up in your cosy bed,
While the night’s adventures fill your head!

About the Writer


Sue Lancaster

Sue is a children's writer living in South West London with her husband, two children and pet budgie, Buddy. Before turning her hand to writing, Sue worked in TV as a Production Manager and got her degree in Media Studies at the University of East London. She grew up in Clacton on the coast of Essex and spent much of her childhood writing stories and poems, playing with her three cats, and being tormented by her two older brothers.