Josiah had dreams and they danced in his head
of things he imagined and things that he did.
He wished he would only have dreams in his bed,
But somehow the dreams traveled farther.
He dreamed at the table, while chewing his peas,
that they’d turned to marbles and he couldn’t breathe.
Josiah turned purple and started to wheeze.
“Josiah,” said his parents, “behave.”
He dreamed during math class that numbers were real.
An eight was a snake and a two was a seal.
Just to be friendly they asked him to squeal.
“Josiah,” said his teacher, “Behave.”
Yes, Josiah had dreams and they danced in his head
of things he imagined and things that he did.
He wished he would only have dreams in his bed,
but somehow the dreams traveled farther.
He dreamed at the ball game, while standing at bat,
The pitcher was pitching Josiah a rat.
To scare it, Josiah meowed like a cat.
“Josiah,” said his coach, “Behave.”
Then one day Josiah met Quincy B. May,
A family friend, from far, far away.
She asked, when she noticed his soft, dreamy way,
of the wondrous visions he saw.
Josiah felt shaky; what if she sneered?
Or thought he was stupid or that he was weird?
He took a deep breath and he swallowed his fear
and told Quincy May what he saw.
“You see, I have dreams and they dance in my head
of things I imagine and things that I did.
I wish I would only have dreams in my bed,
But somehow they travel much farther.
Quincy May smiled. “I know what you mean;
Fantastic imaginings I, too, have seen.
It means you are clever; your senses are keen,
and I’ve got a quick tip for you.
“Your dreams are a treasure that sometimes must wait.”
She taught him to place, in his mind, a small gate
To hold back his dreams when he must concentrate,
but to save for himself dream-time, too.
Josiah thought hard. Could her stunt really work?
Was Quincy May magic or just plain berserk?
Her plan sounded brilliant, except for one quirk.
Oh, how would he do it alone?
For Quincy May couldn’t come with him to school.
The kids would all laugh; they’d call him a fool.
And grown-ups can’t come to third grade—it’s a rule.
But Quincy May had an idea.
“Josiah, your practice can happen right here,
where no one will wonder and no one will sneer.
We’ll practice fine-tuning your dreaming, my dear.”
Indeed, that is just what they did.
They practiced on weekends, sometimes after dinner.
Josiah soon realized that he was a winner
at focus and dreaming. ‘Though just a beginner,
Josiah was well on his way.
One day, not long after, his teacher called home,
and asked for his parents on the telephone.
Josiah dragged forward and started to groan,
then froze as his parents both smiled.
They told him Miss Joplin was very impressed;
Josiah was keeping his dreams to recess.
His efforts had brought him an “A” on a test.
They said they had known he could do it.
Josiah walked back to his room with a smile.
He hadn’t heard good news like that for awhile.
Now he could focus and still be a child,
and dream…and dream…and dream.
Yes, Josiah had dreams and they danced in his head
of things he imagined and things that he did.
Now most times the dreams are at night in his bed,
but sometimes they travel much farther.