Andrew and the Big, Great Boat

There once was a boy named Andrew who was lost at sea;
For a band of Sea Beards had stolen his family.
He was too small to sail the Big, Great Boat,
And from Buccaneer Bay he did drift and float.

Though there was fruit and cheese and biscuits of rye,
It was of loneliness that he thought he would die.
All he could see was water and sky.
He became so sad he began to cry.

He counted the stars, and he gave them all names;
There were Sarah and Philip and William and James.
He wanted to touch them with all of his heart,
But he and his star friends were too far apart.

One day from the sea came a great fish; it said:
"Child, won't you tell me the thing that you wish?"
Andrew was frightened as the fish came near,
But he was curious too, of what he might hear.

Andrew told how his family was taken away,
And how he'd grown lonelier day after day.
He told of his star friends up in the sky,
and the Old Great Fish got a tear in his eye.

> "I'm sorry you've suffered," the Great Fish sighed,
And his fin wiped the tear from the eye that had cried.
"But I know of a star that's ever so near; now
Bend over the side," and it touched him ... right here.

Right there, on a spot at the top of his nose...
"Now, look at this spot, and keep your eyes closed."
At first, what he saw was some colorful lights;
He had never imagined such beautiful sights

Andrew opened his eyes and the Great Fish, it was gone,
But a voice from the deep said, "Don't stop ... go on ..."
Andrew sat on some coiled up rope on the bow.
The Fish said "Go on..." but didn't say HOW.

Andrew looked up again at the same spot as before,
And the colors came back...only brighter-and MORE.
They were shaped like a tunnel, and 'round they would spin,
With the teeniest, tiniest light at the end.

Then around the light was a circle of blue,
And just around that was a golden ring, too.
The tiny light started twinkling and growing,
And Andrew's whole body was warm and glowing.

Now he could see that the light was a star,
And a voice said, "Keep going; you've come so far."
He went deep inside to meet his new friend.
Joy filled him the nearer he came to the end.

The star was so close and so big and so bright
That it lit the whole ship, the whole sea, the whole night.
Andrew was sure he could touch it by now,
But instead, passed right through it-some way, somehow.

And suddenly, Andrew was as big as the sea.
Five million planets were smaller than he.
He felt everything, but he felt no pain.
His body was different; his body had changed.

He knew he was made of nothing but light.
It felt so much better ... so happy and bright.
He felt such a closeness with all that there is,
All the universe was a Best Friend of his.

Every bird, every flower, every fish, every child,
Everything that was tame, everything that was wild.
He knew every family, each Father and Mother;
He knew every one as his Sister and Brother.

They would all be inside him, on and on ... without end,
And Andrew knew he would never feel lonely again.
Suddenly he saw a face extra nice
Of a man on a beach with his daughter and wife.

And though he seemed nice, he looked a bit sad;
Andrew knew now that the nice man was his Dad.
His Father looked up and shouted out, "HEY!"
"Look! That's our big, great boat on the bay!"

Andrew opened his eyes, and what did he see?
Mama, Papa and Sis-on the beach-one, two, three.
Andrew jumped in the waves that took him ashore;
And his family, with hugs, were together ... evermore.

Tales From IMAGINARIA:

IMAGINARIA and MacMusic Magic are OPEN! OPEN! OPEN!
The Rest of Red's Worlds Will Soon Be Ready

If interested in my artistic partner's illustrations or artist's proofs,
E-mail me with a snail-mail address, & she'll have some info wing its way to you.

macisme@primenet.com

Andrew and the Big, Great Boat

Tales From IMAGINARIA:

IMAGINARIA and MacMusic Magic are OPEN! OPEN! OPEN!The Rest of Red's Worlds Will Soon Be Ready

IMAGINARIA and MacMusic Magic are OPEN! OPEN! OPEN!
The Rest of Red's Worlds Will Soon Be Ready