Dream Quest One Second Poetry Prize Winner -

 Winter 2016 - 2017

is

 MICHAEL DI VITO

“Grandma’s Couch”

By Michael Di Vito

When I would go to Grandma’s house, nothing was as it seemed. Objects would come to life and take me places I did not know they could.

The couch at Grandma’s was especially magical.  On the surface it was not much to look at it, but underneath is where its power lay.

On some days it was a time machine that would take us back in time to when the dinosaurs would roam the earth.

Sometimes the floor would turn into hot lava and if you fell off the couch you would burn yourself.

Other days it was a pirate ship. We would sail through the family room on our way to find buried treasure.  But when we didn’t do our chores, Grandma would make us walk the plank.

My favorite times were when it was a castle. I was the King.  I ruled the room like it was my very own kingdom.  I would banish anyone who opposed my rules.

In the Wild West, the couch saw its fair share of gun fights. When bandits would rob the bank, we would all pile onto the couch and chase them down. The couch was the prize stallion of West.

You probably would have never guessed but that couch could fly. It would take us to outer space. We would go for breakfast on Mars, lunch on Saturn, and make it back to Earth for dinner.

We always thought that there was magic in the couch but Grandma always told us that there was magic in our minds. This is the type of magic that could make anything possible. Grandma told us that we have to truly believe, and if we did there was no limit to its powers.  

Grandma has been gone for a while now and I haven’t been to any interesting places for quite some time.  Today I am going to use her couch, and what grandma taught me, to take me back to the first time I went to Grandma’s. I just want to hang out with her all day long.

All I have to do is believe…..

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About the poet: 

My name is Michael Di Vito and I am currently a student at Ryerson University. I am studying at the Ted Rogers School of Business. Although I am studying in a business program, writing children’s stories has always been a passion of mine. Do you remember when you were a child, when life wasn’t the mess that it is today? Each day was an adventure and your innocence made every new experience better. Do you remember how your mind would run free, there were no limits, no boundaries, and you would go as far as you wanted without hesitation? You had an untapped mind that was full of explosive ideas; the world was whatever you wanted it to be.

As you grew up and began to hear words such as no and impossible, doubt formed. You lost your innocence and your once limitless mind now knew boundaries.  Knowledge and facts began to fill the space that once transcended time. As an adult life is not so simple. We are constantly forced to overcome obstacles and sometimes we feel helpless. It is during these times that remembering how to be a child again could save us.  Although your mind might be clouded, you have the ability to change your thoughts into anything that you want.