What I Really Want

I want to do my Sudoku puzzles in ink 

So I cannot erase my mistakes

But instead, weave those mistakes into a beautiful gown

Of red and purple and yellow and blue and green and orange.

Then I’ll wear the dress and my gold sneakers, 

The ones I found at the Salvation Army thrift store,

To the Queen’s ball.

I want to dance with the Munchkins and the Imps

Long passed the stroke of midnight.

We’ll do the Hokey-Pokey all night long,

Or at least till we figure out what it’s all about.

I want to giggle till I cry

My tears become a river diamonds

That sparkle with the morning sun and the night’s stars.

My fears become my paddle, carrying me gently home.

Home sweet home where I am greeted by my Mother,

And the Grandmothers. 

My Mother and the Grandmothers wear crowns of indigo roses and robes of spun gold. 

The scent of the Night Blooming Jasmine surrounds them.

Draped around their necks are long, long bright garlands of golden dandelions laced with dazzling white clover flowers. 

I want to always and forever be awestruck by everything and everyone.

I want to look the tiny spider that lives in the corner of my room

In the eyes and tell her just how much I admire

The artistry and symmetry of her beautiful web.

I want to kiss a frog just to see if he turns into a prince or a princess.

I want to leap over the rainbow and skip down the yellow brick road

With Dorothy and the Scarecrow.

I want to ride on Elphaba’s broom

And zoom around the universe

Witnessing the sacred mystery of the Stars and Planets.

I want to ride on Mercury’s wings

And land on Neptune for a midnight rendezvous with Venus

I want to bathe in the heat of the Sun till I become crispy

And cool my jets in the icy blue glaciers of Uranus

I want to skateboard on the rings of Saturn

While talking to Mars about his red-hot temper.

I want to slip into the future 

And fly like an eagle

To the sea.

But mostly, I want to do my Sudoku in ink

And relish my mistakes.