Six Years Old

Mama, she says, I want to go to the moon.
I want to fly through the sky.
I want to swim underwater with the fish
And watch all the clouds pass by.

Mama, she says, I want to climb trees like a monkey.
I want to be a princess in a castle.
I want to jump on the back of a dragon
And never have a care or a hassle.

Mama, she says, I want to be ten feet tall.
I want to be a teacher.
I want to jump and not fall
And create a monstrous creature.

Mama, she says, I want to slide down the back of a dinosaur.
I want to have my first kiss.
I want to shoot an arrow at a target
And I don’t want to miss.

Mama, she says, I want to pick out my own clothes.
I want to win a barefoot race.
I want to sleep on a cloud
And put makeup on my face.

Mama, she says, I want to be a doctor.
I want to touch the stars.
I want to star in a feature film
And take a rocket ship to Mars.

And I just smile and nod
And I say, “I know you do, baby.”

Author’s note: I wrote this poem two years ago, and I feel like it was my first step into spoken word/slam poetry. I wrote it from the perspective of a six-year-old girl (six-year-old me) who wants to do and be everything under the sun (and all at the same time, of course). I was one of “those children” who always had their head in their clouds and their nose in a book, and any mention of reality was pretty much wasted on them. It is my hope that everyone who reads or hears this poem can find their younger selves in this poem and relive the splendorous fantasies of youth.