I remember a time

When exuberance paraded through life.

I remember a time when the sanguine rays of the sun peered through my window and darted for my eyes,

A time when dainty fingers meticulously braided caramel strands of hair,

A time when tiny, bare feet slapped the wet grass to keep up with the chorus of the ice cream truck,

A time when stick figures were drawn within the margins of messy, cursive notes on the American Revolution,

A time when I painted streaks of lavender and rose gold onto grimy, chipped fingernails,

A time when I knotted the stems of glistening, white daisies into flower crowns,

A time when the licked frosting of birthday cake stained my tongue a brilliant ocean blue.

I remember a time when the billions of colors that gushed through every component of the universe hadn't yet faded into nothingness and turned gray.