Cartoons and Cotton Candy

I remember,
Being curious, but never questioning.
Mommy was God and everything she said must be true.
“Jinx, you owe me a coke,” but you never got one.

I remember,
Running barefoot, feet invincible to the heat.
When the only reason to feel discouraged was because
I couldn’t go outside or get the candy I wanted.

I remember,
Making new clothes and shoes filthy.         
Claiming to be starving whenever I was the least bit hungry.
Holding funerals for the dead bunnies I’d found.
Hopscotch, Disney, cartoons, and candy. I was completely content.

I remember,  
Trying to light things on fire, then getting the cops called on me.
Singing all the time, even as I went potty.
When sticky fingers and a sticky face were an accomplishment.

I remember,
When exercise wasn’t a chore.
Lying in the sun, skin nearly black.
Soaking in my surroundings because there was nowhere I had to be.

What I remember most about my childhood
were the bullets that ended it.

Chelsie Moreno