when time stands still

i refuse to wear high heels. i refuse to wear shoes that make me feel grown-up. velcro for me please.
i refuse to wear lip stick. i refuse to look older than i am. age is a wrinkly worm whom i don't have to coax.
i refuse to stop laughing. to stop hiccouphing in public. to stop skipping along the streets past the grown-up teenagers smoking in the alleys.
maybe they'll join me. this carefree child who refuses to acknowledge her age. we'll make a long string of silly children playing in the sun challenging time to stand still.
we can only pray.