Adoni’s Dream written and illustrated by Kaley Brauer
Adoni’s Dream Written and Illustrated by Kaley Brauer
In the great Australian Outback Lives a little, peaceful tribe Called the Aboriginals They work together, side by side The youngest of the children Is a small boy named Adoni He’s almost always happy But today he’s very moany
His older brother Daku Has finally reached the age When he’s entered into bora, A child’s growing up stage It’s called initiation The boys learn about religion But Adoni’s only sad ‘cause Daku gets all the attention
bora
Daku had private meetings With the elders of the tribe But when asked about them, He simply said with pride: “Bora is just for grown-ups, You would never understand Religion’s too complicated I’ll tell you when you’re a man.”
But Adoni would not wait He wanted an explanation So Daku agreed to tell him About the world’s creation “Before the world existed, The spirits devised a plan To create all sorts of creatures And so a new world began.”
Ancient spirits, as depicted by Aboriginal art
“This time was called ‘the Dreamtime,’ When the world was being born When the spirits filled the skies And lit up the early morn’ “Now, dreams are very sacred They allow humans to see Back to the world’s creation And how all things came to be.”
Adoni thought hard about this It was so much to take in Spirits, Dreamtime, world creation He didn’t know where to begin He was still thinking about it When his mother brought him news “The corroboree is tonight, And you simply can’t refuse!”
A corroboree is a dance, A celebration of the earth All the adults dance and sing About the spirits and their worth As little Adoni watched, Daku appeared in classic dress He went out with the adults And danced for hours without rest
After the dancing ended, Adoni was on his own ‘Cause his parents stayed with Daku And they sent him home alone. He had never felt so lonely So mistreated, so left out ‘I’ll make them notice me,’ he thought ‘Even if I have to shout!’
And with that thought on his mind, Adoni put himself to bed But he suddenly saw light So he lifted up his head The landscape was not familiar None of it was as it seemed Then young Adoni realized That he must be in a dream
When the new world first began, The sun was always in the sky It gave off plenty of light But its heat made the world dry Two brothers chose to fix this Together, they pulled it down And they chose to make it spend All of its nights on the ground
As soon as the sun left the sky, The creatures of the world cried out “We cannot live darkness!� They began to wail and shout All the rest of that dark night, They complained and moaned with dread But when the next morning came, The sun appeared above their heads
The brothers came and told them, “See? Everything needs balance One can’t always be in light Nor always in its absence The sun will set each night, But you must only be patient Each morning it’ll return The sky won’t always be vacant”
At that, Adoni woke up He sat straight up in his bed He was no longer upset Angry thoughts had left his head “I guess I shouldn’t cause trouble, There is no reason to cry” Adoni cheerfully remarked As he left to go outside
In the fields, he saw Daku So he congratulated him “Last night’s dancing was amazing,” Adoni told him with a grin At last, Adoni realized He should not envy his brother The sun may shine on Daku now, But it will shine on another.
the end.
About the Author / Illustrator There once lived a girl named Kaley Who went to high school daily She sure loved to rhyme Just to pass the time And she owned a ukulele.
Now, her last name was Brauer She loved to smell fresh flowers And if there were a need For doodling with speed That’d be her superpower.