Dreambeast: An inspiring poem about dreams for kids. Never doubt your dreams

Dreambeast

If you have a dream
that won’t go away
that gnaws at your toes
with each waking day

That sings beneath notes
and swirls between stars
From lines in great books
it thrashes and gnarls

From cinema screens
it leaps along light
and twists your insides
and stalks you at night

Then give it attention
Tame that wild dream
It’s there for a reason
yet to be seen

A beast of the future
only you own
Don't let it escape
into the unknown

Train it with care
and boost its esteem
Spotlight it brightly
so it can be seen

Or dreams can turn nasty
tire and groan
Diminishing creatures
if left all alone

The beast never dies
just shrinks and goes cold
A lone, solemn dream
growing weary and old

Fight the dream-bruisers
wish-batterers too
and splatterers of hope
who'll be waiting for you

Feel the roar rumble
Hear every shout
It’s your beast of a dream
just dying to get out

©2009 Mark Bird

💡 Literacy Lesson Ideas for Teachers and Students:

When I wrote 'Dreambeast' I wrote it as a warning to myself and as an inspiring poem for kids to never give up on their dreams. However, the best people to write an inspiring poem for kids are children themselves. Get in touch with your own inspiring poem for kids and other young people so I can share your inspiration on my blog at Dreambeast Poems.

As the poet behind Dreambeast, I wanted to give shape to the big, wild feelings that come with dreams—especially the ones that feel too strange, too bold, or too powerful to say out loud. This Dream Poem for Kids invites children to see their dreams not as fragile thoughts, but as wild creatures that need attention, training, and care. In the classroom, this opens a gateway for rich creative writing, roleplay, and metaphor-building activities. Children can write letters to their dreambeasts, sculpt them in clay, or act out how their dreams would move, sound, and even roar. Through storytelling, drama, and visual arts, students can connect with their inner creativity and give their dreams a voice, a shape—and a chance to shine.