dressing-up days

a child's make-believe world

[No. 6 from The Children’s Collection]

dressing-up days are cool, at home or school:
i can be anything i want to be.
mother says i must heed each safety rule,
lest i meet mishap midst my fantasy.

i could just be a fat cat on my mat,
or a lean lion watching o'er my pride.
even a submarine in stealth combat
could be myself, the oceandepths to ride.

i can be queen of hearts, whose royal tarts
fly over mountains, to some distant place
where hungry children, full of sores and warts,
may all be fed, till smiles kiss every face.

I'll be a soldier brave, so I can save
those who are wounded by the press of war—
terrified victims hunted by the grave,
covered in mud and blood and sweat and scar.

to be your special friend, i'll not pretend,
for special friends are oft too hard to find;
so, when this masquerade comes to an end,
i'll haste to you upon a homebound wind.

© Copyright 2023 November 30
by Clyve A. Bowen♫