When I Grow Up

When I grow up, I want to build castles

I want to ride dragons and cast spells and go on quests.

I want to crown kings, sew gowns for princesses, and cast a curse over a land far, far away.

When I grow up, I want to kill people.

I want to kidnap, murder, and steal.

I want to be put in jail and spend the rest of my days plotting my revenge.

When I grow up, I want to fall in love.

I want to dance in the moonlight, kiss in the rain, and grow old with my husband sitting on a front porch swing.

I want to stand at a balcony, look down at the boy below and know he is mine as long as we both shall live.

When I grow up, I want to travel the galaxy.

I want to be green and have three eyes, meet the queen of the stars, and board a spaceship.

I want to fall through a black hole and live to tell the tale.

When I grow up, I want to do all of these things and more.

When I grow up, I want my office to be my home, and my colleagues to be my pets.

I want to forge worlds with my words, and create flesh and blood out of paper and ink.

I want to be able to thank unknown forces on hand and knee for giving me my dream job, even on days when my brain is drained of ideas.

When I grow up, I want to be a writer.