At nine I lived for recess

For ten-thirty in the morning

When all school work suddenly vanished

Like the lights somehow did whenever we watched a movie

And all of us swarmed like ants from our classrooms

With clumsy feet and ear-to-ear smiles

The scorching sun made the monkey bars hot and slippery

But it didn't stop us for a second

The zip line was too high

I couldn't even reach it if I jumped

The trees in the corner were a cave

Relief from the glowing furnace in the sky

They came down low so I could reach them

I spent a lot of time there on my own

It was my pride and joy

And I thought highly of myself

for discovering such a place in a mere playground

The playground's platform was a pirate ship

And its steps were the plank

The rock-climbing wall was the center, the sail

We climbed up to the tallest point and proclaim “Land ho!” as we sailed through the wood chips

Our hands cupped around our eyes were binoculars, and they worked quite well

Recess was for running and playing and laughing

And for truly living

Without even knowing it

Every second was ours until the bell marched us back to class

At age nine, I lived for art

For painting a jungle with watercolors

And capturing the beauty of a simple sun and its squiggly orange rays on a canvas

For having my mom display it on our wall for the world to see

There was no sadness or despair

No darkness or disappointment

Just flowers and butterflies, bright colors

and smiles

We made up pretend fantasies and experimented with 'what if'

There was no plot or conflict or theme to our story

Just us and happy endings