Time skips by,
Little girl with a bright red jump rope
Counting one, two, three
All to herself.
Reaching one hundred
Begin again,
Faster, faster,
Blur of brown hair, innocent green eyes,
Red rope turns over and over,
A staccato rhythm keeping time -
Never ending.
Her music as the sun sets;
Light fading
Smears of orange and yellow
Casting her ever-moving shadow
Onto the dark gravel below.
Darkness approaches,
Foreboding.
Her smile a shield
Against the monsters lurking in the gloom.
Her innocence a sword against the dangers
Hunting for a young child,
Waiting for the moment
She bends down
To tie a freed shoelace,
Unaware.
Not I, she says,
Red jump rope in hand,
Conqueror of fears
Defeater of the night,
Playacting the part
Brave Joan of Arc.
The world is hers
As her red rope turns
Over and over.
Count to one hundred,
Begin again.
Dreaming of a day
When she can rule more than a bright red jump rope
And the shadows
Of the night.