5. The Secret and Darkling Playground

Dark secret games
the park preferred over tea,
as imagination made worlds
against the dimming space.
The gang uncovered lost identities,
jungles and caverns
in respite of and besides
what was accepted and known.
A long journey home
after school with diversions
and raucous play.


The young Prince lagged behind once the school day was done. In the park with the gang, new identities were forged, new adventures from a fermenting brain, which sought expression, new lands to explore...and possibly a hint of yearning for (Arcturean?) safety. Leading the play...an early Indiana Jones. There was danger, but more so at home.

The slide, particularly, harked back to an earlier shocking memory, from circa 3 years of age, when instead of descending with the expected aplomb, there was an unpleasant sticky inertia. Having urinated down the slide, the nursery school staff rushed to expunge the shame. The fresh clothes hastily magicked became a source for maternal outrage, as the underwear was clearly suitable only for a male infant. A seed was sown, one of many that were to trouble mother and child in the years to come.