Do you remember the time
When you covered your eyes and thought the world couldn’t see you?
Do you remember playing dress-up,
Putting on the clothes
Of a police officer, Cinderella
A doctor or nurse
Pulling on their personas
And discarding your own?
How about playing with your American Girl dolls
Maybe it was Baby Alive
(Or your Power Rangers)
Or whispering secrets in your Bunny’s floppy, waiting ear?
Then the fairy tale is over
Somehow, along the way you found out
That no matter how tightly you squeeze your eyes
People can still see you
You gave away your dress up clothes
The tiaras and glittery shoes
The hot pink feather boas and sequined dresses
All fueling some other girl’s imagination
Your old toys stare down at you now from their perch
Being touched only for the occasional dusting
Living out the rest of their lives with you
On the high shelf