by Nick Gisburne
Two excitable sisters were certain
That they wanted to fly to the moon
But they couldn’t think how
And decided, for now
They would ride in a giant balloon
So they built up a basket with boxes
Tied together with tangles of string
And their paper balloon
Raised them up to the tune
Of the silliest song they could sing
And their flight was a magical thing
They soared high over Kilimanjaro
And they waved to the lions beneath
Skimming deserts and trees
And the billowing seas
Where the sharks bared their treacherous teeth
Swooping low they tracked leopards and tigers
Through the snow-covered hills of Nepal
But the dragons which flew
Over China they knew
Were the biggest and best of them all
But they suddenly started to fall
For a powerful storm raged around them
And it tore their balloon into shreds
Threw the box to the ground
Tossed the sisters around
As it lashed at their poor little heads
And they cried through the fury and thunder
As they watched it break all that they had
No more fun, no more play
No, together they lay
Bruised and broken, scared, shaken and sad
And they whispered, “Don’t hurt us. Please, Dad.”
At the end of each day came new dreaming
For the spell of the moonlight was strong
And together they swore
They would visit the shore
Of a land where brave sisters belong
So they chartered a ship from their bedroom
And they sailed on the blanket blue sea
With a pillow to steer
And a mutinous cheer
They were pirates, united and free
And they knew where the treasure would be
Far away in mysterious waters
Where the mermaids sing songs to the stars
On an island of gold
The two sisters were told
Of a secret to soothe all their scars
Climbing down the great creaky stairs mountain
Through the hall where the coat creatures creep
They discovered a room
The lost kitchen of doom
And the ice monster, humming, asleep
How they hoped that his slumbers were deep
Barely breathing, as silent as shadows
Arms entwined, they drew near to a door
In this tower of white
Lived a timorous light
No explorer had witnessed before
They must open this mystical portal
And release the cold secrets within
Each girl stretched out a hand
To at last understand
How such curious beams could begin
But a blaze of pain seared through their skin
’Twas the guardian, queen of the darkness
And her silhouette shifted and turned
Breathing venom and smoke
She made little girls choke
And their arms, with her white wand, she burned
With a scream, she administered justice
Which was angry and ruthless and red
They were naughty indeed
So of course they must bleed
And be dragged by the hair into bed
By a mother who wished they were dead
There are skies where the moon does not glimmer
And young dreams fade or fail in the dark
Life was bitter and bleak
Night and day, week by week
Each new suffering smothered their spark
And the faces of those who should love them
Were the ones they had learned to despise
But the father, they knew
Watched them change as they grew
And he looked now with different eyes;
In their innocence, sensed a new prize
On a night cold and clear, still and silent
Two young sisters knew what they must do
Of the moon they’d once dreamed
But that journey had seemed
An impossible thing to pursue
But the puzzle was finally fathomed
Now they knew how to fly to the moon
With particular care
They began to prepare
And planned all through the long afternoon
Now they waited, for night would fall soon
First, a final, ferocious encounter
With the monsters who menaced their world
But each furious fist
Though too strong to resist
Could not tear down the flag they’d unfurled
For its colours flew freely within them
In a whirlwind of moonshine and dreams
Yet a deepening red
Stained each shimmering thread
Painting pictures of sorrow and screams
Weaving pain through their secretive schemes
But at last these two valiant sisters
Stepped as astronauts into the night
In their raincoats and boots
Sharing solemn salutes
They made ready to launch into flight
From the capsule they gazed through the windows
With a courage that none could deny
And a rumble of sound
Filled the air, shook the ground
As the starship soared into the sky
Holding hands, they both whispered goodbye
No more monsters in space, no more worries
Just the stars and the moon and the night
And the earth with its glow
Wondrous cities below
But the sisters found sleep hard to fight
Though their fuel ran dry and they landed
From the ship itself nobody stepped
In this place without air
No one offered a prayer
But the souls of the sisters now slept
As the stars and the moon softly wept
They were found the next day by a neighbour
In their spaceship, in one of Dad’s vans
But its engines were still
In their bodies a chill
Two small astronauts, still holding hands
Bold, adventurous sisters, so certain
They could visit the moon, so must try
Tiny stars, they burned bright
Two brave shimmers of light
Over seas, over mountains and sky
All they’d wanted to do was to fly
