The Dirigible Balloon
Poetry for Children

A Plea from the Rescue Centre for Mythical Beasts

Listen to Brian's poem ... read by JH
One or two of our mythical creatures
have proved very hard to rehome.
Nobody wants a gorgon
whose stare could turn them to stone.

But a dragon below the floorboards
will provide you with underfloor heating.
Many heads of a hydra will watch
from each window while you’re sleeping.

Roars from a centaur will also help
to keep away burglars too.
And a Cyclops will always say
that he’s keeping his eye on you.

A banshee’s high pitched shriek
will wake you from your sleep,
better than any alarm clock
if your sleep is heavy and deep.

Cerberus, the three headed dog
will cause a stir in the park,
warning off rival dogs
with his fearsome bark, bark, bark.

Some creatures we can’t get enough of,
like the popular unicorn,
and everyone wants to rehome
a lucky leprechaun.

An ogre for classroom discipline
would be of assistance to teachers.
So won’t you help us rehome
one of our mythical creatures?

Picture by David Oates
Picture by David Oates

About David Oates, the illustrator: David is currently a teacher living and working in Suffolk with his wife, five children and 2 dogs. He picked up his drawing pens again in 2020 after a 23 year hiatus year to focus on achieving his childhood ambition of becoming an illustrator. His first children's book 'The Imagination Thief' is both written and illustrated by David and will be published in November 2021 by Emira Press.

About the Writer


Brian Moses

Brian is an English poet who writes mainly for children. He has over 200 published works and has given over 3000 performances of his poetry and percussion show. His poetry books and anthologies for Macmillan have sold in excess of 1 million copies. He was asked by CBBC to write a poem for the Queen's 80th birthday and was invited by Prince Charles to speak at Prince’s Summer School for teachers at Cambridge University in 2007. Brian is Co-director of the Able Writers’ Scheme (now called the AIM High Writers' Scheme) which he founded in 2002. Brian can be contacted at brianmoses.co.uk