Inspired by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Inspired by a Line by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies –
where half-asleep children lie in wait
for the sound of the fairy
who takes little reminders
that they are no longer babies, these shooting stalks
stretching pudgy arms into the air, reaching
with fists greedily open, ready to grab
the stars out of the night
to keep in a jar, study, and release.

Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies –
and nobody lies,
and the little ones don’t think to escape, they just
do it –
strolling down Sesame Street,
they take the tiny trolley
to the Land of Make Believe.
They stage elaborate productions in living rooms,
incorporate the antiques in their plays,
dragging adults away from the bills,
and the cooking of supper,
until the performance ends
and small feet run bare into backyards
where little voices argue over super powers.

Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies –
everything is cured easily
with cotton-candy pink amoxicillin,
eardrops, children’s Tylenol,
a chewy cherry dinosaur
packed with a days worth
of vital vitamins.

Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies –
where little ears listen for reindeer hooves on the roof
and small hands arrange milk and cookies
on a platter for the “jolly old elf,”
where teeth are precious and
baskets are filled with candy,
not fruit or cheese or wine.

Flowers wilt, their petals dropping on top of each other,
but there is safety in the knowledge that they will bloom again.
The goldfish trades fishbowl for toilet bowl
but is replaced the same day.

Black is a color not yet known.