A Childhood Fantasy?

Of course I had them
doesn’t everybody ?
I mean, I knew who I was going to be.
I would be a movie star.
There was no doubt.
I always practiced my Esther Williams act
there
on the front lawn.
I remember swimming around
in the Kentucky blue grass
lifting my marvelous leg out of the water
listening to the thunderous roar of the audience.
While down deep in the blades of grass
I watched wonderful crawly things
like lady bugs
trying to find their way home
before all their children burned.
And sometimes when I was really lucky,
I saw ants
carry a dead bug to a hole in the ground.
I knew
they were storing food
for winter.
When I tired
of watching ants build cities and stuff,
I would curtsy to my adoring fans
and go visit a friend
who had a garage,
where we held our shows
for captive audiences.
We had our wardrobes
of sequined gowns, diamond pendants
and mink stoles
stored in brown
cardboard luggage.
We were wonderful.
Dancing and singing
while grateful crowds begged for more.
We always did several encores,
knowing
they were starved for fine entertainment
and a taste of the good life.
It was excruciating work.
But we felt
that we really should share
our beauty with the world.
And after hours
of grueling performances
we bowed
exhausted, but content,
knowing that we had brought great joy
to the masses.

©vrd.6/98