• It begged for a rider;
    not two feet off the ground.

    I hadn't ridden one in years.
    Did I still know how to fly?

    I walked up,
    the wood squares beneath my shoes.

    I sat upon the saddle,
    the leather hugging my hips.

    My fingers glazed the cool metal of the chains
    before clutching tight.

    Pushing off with my feet,
    mulch flying in all directions.

    Higher and higher I went;
    it didn't take me long to reach my destination.

    I was soon flying,
    high above the park.

    So high that
    the people were less than ants.

    So fast that
    the colored squares were a blur.

    A world of puffy fabric,
    all around me.

    Stepping on the white in a background of blue
    had to be a passion for some.

    With each leap I bounded,
    a white structure loomed nearer.

    Just a few cotton balls away,
    I notice a castle.

    Towers,
    seemingly taller than the sky.

    I reach the castle,
    a wooden knocker on the door.

    My hand goes for the knocker,
    but the door opens first.

    "Ask and you shall receive."
    The words fill my mind.

    I step inside;
    a grand entrance unfolds.

    Wooden floors,
    cream wallpaper with a Greek mural,

    stairs lined in red carpet,
    and wooden doors laced in intricate carvings.

    I climb the stairs,
    and the doors open.

    In the empty room
    a man sits in a chair.

    Each step I take towards the male
    echoes against the walls.

    "Hey!"
    The man and the castle disappear.

    I return to earth,
    going up and down, up and down.

    A girl stands before me,
    "can I have a turn?"

    I slow and stop,
    more flying mulch.

    I get off the saddle.
    "Sure thing."

    As I walk away, I smile.
    I can't rob her of her childhood.