Tucked in the backseat, right-side of a ‘99 Camry.
My perch, my fort, a kingdom of my own.
Keys jangle in the ignition, rousing it from sleep.
Sometimes a guttural purr, low and lazy.
Sometimes a lullaby, sung off-key and fading.
But always sputtering like a heart skipping a beat.
My chubby cheeks press into the cold glass.
As we drive, I flip a storybook— each cloud a page left behind.

Wait, are the clouds drifting, or is it me?
To this day, I don’t know.

Cirrus, altocumulus, stratus…
The names when I saw Rubin’s Vase.
Circuses, alto saxophones, strawberries…
The names when I saw Rubin’s Face.

Could I ever reach them?
To this day, I’m still plotting

07/24/16 To-Do List:
1) Trade the cow-shaped cloud for magic beans.
2) Plant the beans in my backyard
3) Climb the beanstalk to reach the swirling clouds.
4) Feel their softness? slickness? sharpness?
5) Taste their sweetness? sourness? saltiness?
6) Don’t get tempted by the castle!
7) Bring some fluff for my sister?
8) Flee before the giant awakes.

My sister cranks 98.7 on the radio,
Justin Bieber, One Direction fading into my left ear,
Above, the horizon unspools a tapestry of tales,
When I wanted humor,
The angels farted
When I sought adventure,
Dragons uncoiled in the sky
And ships sailed in the treacherous sea,
When I marveled at nature,
Forests were rich with blossoms and fruits,
Deer pranced playfully.

Is that a duck or a flamingo?
No, it's a duck’s head with a flamingo’s body.
To this day, just a cloud.

Now, I stare at the sky— its life withers.
The clouds wisps, too scrawny to hold their shape,
I plead with the sky for just one more story,
But the angels haven’t eaten.
The giant is asleep.
The dragons are fossils.
The ships have docked.
The flowers were monocarpic.
The fruits gone rotten.
And hunting season begun.

Did the clouds grow old?
To this day, only I have aged.

But on that right side, I am always the kid.
The kid chasing stories like fireflies in the dark,
The kid who clutched onto the stories like treasures,
The kid who wore the clouds like a crown,
A crown spun from imagination and creativity.