when i was a 5
i wanted to be a pirate
maybe not a blood-thirsty
killing kind of pirate but
more of a swashbuckling
snappy dresser daredevil kind
i would wear a leather satchel
strapped diagonally
across my chest and just my
underwear
i never got as far as the eye-patch
but i was quite handy with a plastic sword
i am not sure
what got me hooked on pirates but
now that i think of it
i am sure it had something to do with
pippi longstocking
and to this day
i think part of me still resembles her
but maybe it is just
the teeth
