10 Vignettes of a Child

1. I have a rocket ship. I take it and play that I'm in space. I go to the moon and then I go and fly and play on the stars because that's what you do with a rocket ship. But I don't say hi to the aliens because they ate those people in the movie. Sometimes my dad will watch me play and maybe want to throw a ball. But I like my rocket more. If I want to I let my brother play. But he always drops my rocket and ruins my mission. So sometimes I don't let him play. And then he cries and my mom sends me to bed. And when I fall asleep I dream I am in a rocket ship.

2. My mommy makes me go to Church. She says it because Jesus loves me. And that Jesus loves all the children. Sammy said that Jesus was black. But Jesus is white because that is him in the pictures. And in the windows. Those are pretty. Sometimes they make colors on the ground.

3. Spiders are gross but I have to kill them for my sister if my mommy is on the phone or not there. I take a napkin and squish!! Sometimes I feel bad because maybe that is a spider daddy or a spider mommy. And maybe the spider babies are crying and waiting for their spider mommy or spider daddy to come home and they never do. But if I don't spiders might grow big and squish me. And I don't want to be squished and have my guts and blood all ooze out. My sister would scream because she doesn't spiders. Me neither but I have to squish them for her or else she will cry. And when she cries she never gets quiet.

4. There was a bad man on the TV. I was eating my cereal when I saw him. It was good cereal- the rainbow colored kind that turns the milk pink. The people on the TV said the man was bad and my mommy said that the people in the papers said he's bad. Yesterday I made my bed and made my sister stop crying and my mommy said I was good. Does the bad man's mommy say he's good?

5. I don't like losing teeth. The big hole in my mouth feels funny because I always want to put my tongue in it and it feels funny. The hole reminds me of a time ago when my daddy punched a hole in the wall. I didn't see him do it but my brother did and I went in to the living room and saw the white stuff that's supposed to be on the inside of the wall on the floor. My brother said that it was because my daddy had no money to buy food but then he went out to dinner with a lady. I wanted to hide under my bed when I heard my daddy's hand hit the wall but I was at my daddy's and I sleep on the floor there.

6. Once I was at the park with my mom and my sister was in her stroller and I saw a swan. It was pretty and white and it had a big black splotch over its eye. I wanted to feed it bread but my mom didn't have any. I wanted to put my sister in the water and see if she could swim but my mom yelled at me. And the swan was scared away. So we went home and she gave me some bread so I went and fed the ducks in the pool. When I got inside my mom said that the ducks are related to the swan. That means the ducks are part of the swan's family. So I thought maybe the ducks would go and tell the swan at the park and she would come and sit in the pool but she never came. I didn't see the swan next time I went to the park either.

7. This is what after school is like after school. My teacher is Mrs. White. She has brown hair and glasses. After school I go to the YMCA. I eat snacks, and play games and read. I don't have many friends. But my brother does. He's in 5th grade. That is older than me. Today I was playing and I got hot so I took off my shirt because I was wearing my white T-Shirt underneath. My mommy says I have to wear it. I don't know why. But when my mommy came to pick me up she yelled at me in the parking lot and said that the T-Shirt is like not wearing a shirt. I felt dirty and put my arms across my chest and ran to the car. But I still felt dirty.

8. I don't like biting into apples because they're hard and hurt my lips. Sometimes when my daddy cuts them they make a star. I thought I was supposed to make a wish but Daddy said no. All apples do that.

9. When I make my bed I don't want to. But my mommy said that if a robber would come into the house and they would lay on our beds and we would know because the sheets an blankets would be all messed up and wrinkly, like the story of Goldilocks. I hope when the robbers come they don't take my toys.

10. Robby was once a little boy who had a mommy and a daddy. His daddy used to go away a lot and make money on busy trips. Sometimes his daddy would stay in a hotel and leave Robby and his mommy all alone. Robby would miss his daddy, even when his daddy had a new toy for Robby that he bought on his busy trips. Robby wanted his daddy to stay home like all the other daddies but Robby's daddy was always leaving. Even with Robby was little.