they asked her what she wanted to be
when she was older
she replied “Lady Liberty”
and draped a toga around her
star-freckled shoulders
tissued fabric kissed her toes

she plucked a torch out of thin air
and shot it through with lightning
electric burns drew delicate scars on
the canvas of her forearms

the sun crowned her as a saviour
and the moon wrote love letters
while the sea-salt spray of the untameable ocean sang
a siren song of invincibility

and, with a wave of her hand,
the doors to freedom flew open.