I want to be grounded

like a child rolling 

down a grassy hill

with abandon.

I remember doing that

when mom would pile us in the car & take us to a far-away park.

I want to be joyous 

like the parrots singing

their chatter from the high-up palm trees.

I remember feeling that 

when we would run the neighborhood

with flattened cardboard boxes to use as sleds down dirt fields.

I want to be simple

like dreamy days of old when screen doors would slam shut with a whisper

as children bounced from house to house.

I am an old woman now,

no more rolling down hills,

no more sledding down mountains,

but I can still walk the grounds,

I can still hear the bird song,

I can still go from house to house--

hello, friend, so glad to see you today,

a simple day,

a joyous day.