A little moptop girl waxing philosophic,
Brazen voice as vibrant as black dots
On short hot pink with Mary Janes.
That first memory, sweet and Rosie -
She danced and sang a pocket full
Of posies 'round forgettable names.

Next, graduated from the dots but still a girl -
This time three for the price of one.
Stories of Mohegan Sun and Rolex watches;
Opera with a capital O for ovation
Standing, all four feet eleven inches.
Already has the hair flip - becomes woman undone.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, she outgrew the red curls,
Went instead for the fire engine lipstick
Sealed, like her place in my heart.
Bernadette's successor - tart and sassy
And all the right moves, doesn't need chair splits -
Dame's got a shimmy-shake that won't quit.

Tames it down a notch for the professor,
On her white knight quest with bells and ringlets
And sherbert dresses, scrumptious to the point of
Perfection. Breathless on a footbridge, she stands
with rosettes and lace and hands delicate in white
That suggest angelic heritage.

Bubble, bubble, toil, and trouble -
Forget the knight: she'll brandish wands and tiaras
And throw down with the "Wicked-y, Wicked-y Wetch of the Wist."
Bad ass in her taffy pink, raindrop blue, or champagne yellow -
They all go good with lizard green and wizardry -
And somewhere over the rainbow Judy smiles.

Resurrect the tulle and the jewels for the purest of the
Pure. Crazy high E flats while standing on couches -
And if that doesn't blow you away, the cyclone will,
As ropes of pearls whirl and whirl but from the swan neck
Never stray. Better than Keats's unravish'd bride:
"All ye need know is glitter and be gay."

Balcony seats in Cincy, worth every penny,
If only to hear the flubbed line and see the plunging back.
Little Wow, indeed! - Brought the crowd to its feet and
Bounced in heels and an evening gown, how divine.
With itchy palms and starry eyes, spirits soaring off the ground,
Left that night in Popular pink, knowing I was changed for good.

January, February, March, April:
It's their loss they don't have her year-round.
But, ah! April, April, April, April! She was there then,
There and all but crowned. "You're amazing, and I love you,"
I was awed enough to say. And she hugged me, hugged me,
Hugged me, hugged me! - I miss it to this day.

Now she's Miss Political:
Come in with a bang, go out with one too -
Just like the name. A watch-stealing, pill-popping,
Headband-wearing, fast-talking darling. Traded the come-and-go
Bubble for a tubful. Don't underestimate, don't depreciate, and
Don't talk down. She's smarter than you.

One twitchy, witchy nose later, we've got a budding
Movie Star, a tiny titan of stage and screen - silver or otherwise,
Bewitching not with a manufactured jingle but a
Heavenly song. The future bows down before her, a poppy field,
A yellow brick road, and with anticipation wait and see
Just where that bright, glittery horizon goes.