Almost Five

Yellow yarn connects
the two parts of her handmade phone.
And because we tell her No!
she presses her index finger to
the mirror-image numbers.
" I'm calling 911 for a better life."

The world she inhabits
within our house,
where the fires of Fantasia
burn through the television
and engulf the living room,
now holds equal sway with our own.

A rural graveyard and
somber explanation of death
only bring a lightbulb smile:
" I have a great idea!
Let's get some sticks
and dig the people up,"

An autumn hike
through neighborhood woods
ends with an off-key lullaby
to stir fairies sleeping
under a rotting log.

As this world burns away
like morning fog
may it leave a trace-