For Karla

I arrive each time hurried, out of breath, exhausted from all of life's battles--huge or small.

And before I walk through the doors, I know that these are lies that only I tell so that every moment of my life is accountable...Because if life for me is really mostly only toil and strife, it must well be worth it someday. Right? After all, isn't that what all heroines tell themselves? And so I gather the berries of life as any good woman would do and I sprinkle the freshly crushed juice upon the paths of the lives of many to sweeten their steps. And when poison rises up from the ethers, my juices will become the anecdote to slay the fiercest of dragons. Yes I am woman. Hear me roar.

But some days, my inner lion is more like a tiny kitten just looking for a warm spot filled with sunlight where I may rest lazily and purr even just for a minute.

And so here I am without a heroine to slay my dragons and battle for me. Because time has ticked away and I am now left without my personal army.

So at last heavy breath, I open the door to the garden of my life where I may be a child. I can watch and fly with butterflies. I can dance in the pixie dust and play like I am the queen of the fairies! The waterfalls carry me through miles of luscious sweet tropical flowers as the birds sing with laughter. I can touch the sky as I fly and soar into the heavens and get wet in the mist of my own happiness.

And there she is, Karla. Stout old, arms stretched with a big warm hug. Thank God! Let's play Karla and she beckons me closer. And upon reaching her, she turns me into a little pearl and places me on a big lush pillow. She can see that I am tattered and dirty. So Karla reaches into her magical bag and pulls out a Orion of Lavender and Citrus and rubs it on me. She takes the softest cloth and holds me so preciously. She works through the rain, and the sunbeams turn my tears to brilliant rainbows. She tidies the streaks placed u pon me and gives them a special shimmer that makes me a one of a kind pearl. And after an eternity of shining and sparkling that will never feel like enough, Karla gently and lovingly places me back on my pillow. I rest in the warm glow of the sun. Then, when it is time, Karla turns me back into a warrior.

And with a new pocket full of dreams, I return to my life.