I Used to Believe Thesaurus Was a Dinosaur

(An actor/actress walks to the center of the stage and sits. I think perhaps Lindsay Kopit.)

I used to believe that the earth was covered with ocean, and bits of land were just floating around on top of it, so that’s why on the beach you can dig a hole so deep you hit water. I used to believe rabbits were pink and ducks were yellow, because of those marshmallow candies people eat at Easter. I used to believe Easter was a holiday about bunny rabbits. I used to believe in a god. I used to believe sex was for married people, and drugs were for sick people. I used to believe that the man who shot Bambi’s mother was the meanest, lowest person on the face of the earth. I used to believe that blue was for boys. I used to believe that strangers, by their nature, were going to hurt me. I used to believe that everything grew on trees, even carrots and grapes and watermelons. I used to believe that it was awfully silly for Mr. Rogers to think he needed to change his clothes every time he left the house. I used to believe that fuck was just a word that rhymed with fire truck. I used to believe the goldfish I brought home from kindergarten hadn’t actually died, instead he found some way of escaping through the drain pipes and was making his way back to the ocean. I used to believe raspberries were blue. I used to believe that Pocahontas and John Smith had really, truly been in love with each other. I used to believe light sabers were real. I used believe that the quarter the tooth fairy stuck under my pillow was a heck of a lot of money for one little fairy to be carrying. I used to believe time passed so slowly it made you ache. I used to believe I shouldn’t go out in the rain because my brother told me the acid makes people grow extra toes. I used to believe you could make a living coming up with names for Crayola crayon colors. I used to believe there was no limit to the number of times a person could recover from a disease, that they could just keep getting better indefinitely. I used to believe that the borders of countries had always been there. I used to believe poetry was all about pretty words. I used to believe John Lennon died in a car accident, and the worst possible thing about the person sitting next to you on the airplane was that they snored. I used to believe that people didn’t care who you were or where you came from as long as you were human. I used to believe.