- written for English class

Looking back now,
as I flip through the photo albums,
I see that it was merely a tent,
made of bedsheets hung from the bunkbed;
a child's play place,
nothing else.
But how I remember it
as so much more-
a ship, a castle, a clubhouse;
a special place
where I could be and do anything.
How many adventures passed
in that linen room!
I could be a peg-legged pirate
fighting my sister for the treasure,
a beautiful princess
imprisoned by the evil witch,
and a lone Indian warrior
camping on the prairie,
all in the same day.
And still, many were the nights
when it became a secret hideout
for my friends and I
and there were secrets told
of crushes and classmates,
with each other's oaths
that nothing said left the room.
There was something about
that bedsheet tent
that made you feel safe
and special
and unafraid to let your imagination
have absolute control.
Maybe it was childhood innocence
that brought such magic to the place.
Maybe it was the drudgery
of rainy days and wintry weekends
that made it seem so grand.
How a simple blanket
could inspire such self-confidence,
I cannot now comprehend.
What it was about that tent
that brought to life
such fantasies as we played,
I still cannot fathom.
Whenever I begin to wonder anew,
the only answer I get
from the little girl yet inside
is a shrug and a grin;
anything can happen beyond the sheet.

09/19/2000

Posted on 09/22/2001
Copyright © 2025 Amanda J Cobb