The playground structure glistens underneath the daylight,
The rainbow of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple,
Whether the spectrum of color is splattered on the slide or a ladder,
Or the swing set or the see saw or the monkey bar.
Like an ocean that will wash over and light up the child’s tearstained face,
With the primary objective of turning any frown upside-down.
It is a canopy of discovery,
An island of misfit toys.
A jungle of discovery,
A kingdom of exploration.
An enchanted land where anything is possible.
Where a lot can be learned by conquering a fear,
By learning the secret behind how to win every hopscotch match,
Or bellyflopping down the tunnel slide without a partner.
And mastering the expertise of the swing set by kicking your legs up into the air,
Or resolving a dispute between a friend,
By spitting on your palm and shaking a hand.
The smell of sweetened wildflower is lingering within the breeze,
There is a story behind that candy wrapper discarded on the floor,
And the piece of gum latched onto the bottom of the playground equipment,
And that bloodstained massacre of a band-aid spread over the ground.
A cloudless sky hangs over the peaceful background,
I sprint toward it with my hair and dress flying behind me alongside the wind,
I fashion myself a crown out of the flower I discover in the meadow.
I declare myself the queen of the land as I approach my magical kingdom,
A boy that I have never met before,
Reveals himself from the darkness underneath a nearby willow.
He would introduce himself as the king who has returned to claim his castle,
We collaborate and create an alliance.
The sun would bear down on our army of children,
With the beautiful, feminine duchess, adorning her summer frock.
And the powerful, masculine duke, with his origami sword in its sheath,
Alongside the knight in shining armor, saluting over his sparkling bicycle helmet,
Not to forget the honorable soldiers, who defended the dominion with their life.
As we adventure onto the bridge suspended over the tanbark,
Pretending that it was a dangerous ocean with a monster that lurked in its depth.
We would hunt down a mythological creature in the field,
And defeat a dragon about to conquer our property.
Princesses curtsey in their paint-splattered artist smocks,
Princes would bow in their disheveled overalls and unbuttoned shirts,
As they enter the luxurious ballroom,
Transforming their tattered clothing into expensive dresses and tuxedos,
Dancing the night away as if there were no tomorrow. 
We were whoever we wanted to be,
We were wherever we wanted to be,
We were whenever we wanted to be,
We were however we wanted to be,
With the power of our imagination.

We dwelled in the most unbelievable world of creation,
A place where anything was possible with the blink of an eye or the drop of a hat,
We could summon a pegasus by pointing to a cloud drifting in the sky,
We can call for a centaur by screaming into the forest at the top of our lungs,  
We would discover a unicorn by galloping with the wind.
The villain soon lead his army to besiege our kingdom,
They were all appropriately prepared,
With ammunition properly loaded into their water gun.
Their bicycle helmet strapped securely to their head,
He would command his servicemen to stampede over our castle,
And to slaughter us all with their ferocious weaponry.
Their frightening and intimidating gaze surveys our kingdom like it is a prize.
We ordered our strongest men to fight against them,
But we they all fell underneath the control of the enemy.
And after my temporary moment in royalty,
I could only watch as my castle was ruined.
Tears cascaded down my face like a waterfall,
As I buried my visage into my hand.
I felt an arm over my shoulder,
A voice comforting me and informing me that everything will be alright,
We eventually decided to share the magical kingdom.
We danced and laughed and exploded with excitement,
Sprawling across the meadow,
Jumping over the playground structure,
Hopping into the air,
Absolutely free from any concern or stress.
Our memories completely lost in the midst of childhood,
A time we can only reminisce in adulthood with nostalgic sentiment.
And will soon be forgotten as the seasons change to winter, spring, summer, and autumn.
That childhood summery freedom will soon crinkle and disconnect,
Just like the leaves on a tree as time continues.
Covered by an abominable blizzard instead of a friendly blanket of snow,
As expectations and responsibilities simultaneously arrive with age.

I return to this park as an adolescent,
I allow my finger to smooth over the playground structure.
In an attempt to remember what it was like,
When my freedom was not constrained by a regulation.
When my value was not defined by a numerical scale.
When my entire existence was not dependant on my college essay
Or the amount of extracurricular activities that I participated in
To have the entire world’s expectation suspended over my shoulder,
A prisoner of the textbook,
The soldier of the teacher,
A slave to the classwork, homework, and schoolwork,
Forever locked amongst the dungeon of binder paper, calculators, protractors, and broken dreams
A random identity restricted by a deadline.
When I was forced to face reality,
And to perceive the world through a spectacle of an adult,
The schoolhouse playground structure is no longer my castle.
The grass field is not my mystical meadow anymore.
The park is not my magical kingdom.
I live in a society where both optimism and pessimism are frowned upon,
How the creative fabrication of a world is a notion that can only be categorized as a dream.
How my achievements and accomplishments can only be recognized with diligence,
I cannot be a queen simplistically by placing a daisy chain over my head.
I cannot be defend my country with an army of children with a bicycle helmet and a water gun.
I cannot fight a monster with a paper sword.
Nor can I protect my people with a plastic shield.
My imagination is now only a separated entity from reality.
If only life were as simplistic as that,
But unfortunately it is not.