Questions My Son Asked Me, Answers I Never Gave Him - Nancy Willard

Larry Robinson Lrobpoet at sonic.net
Sat Apr 29 12:11:02 PDT 2017


Thank you, Sally; many blessings to you.
> On Apr 29, 2017, at 7:22 AM, Larry Robinson <Lrobpoet at sonic.net> wrote:
> 
> Questions My Son Asked Me, Answers I Never Gave Him
> 
> 1. Do gorillas have birthdays?
>    Yes. Like the rainbow, they happen.
>    Like the air, they are not observed.
> 
> 2. Do butterflies make a noise?
>     The wire in the butterfly’s tongue
>     hums gold.
>     Some men hear butterflies
>     even in winter.
> 
> 3. Are they part of our family?
>    They forgot us, who forgot how to fly.
> 
> 4. Who tied my navel? Did God tie it?
>     God made the thread: O man, live forever!
>     Man made the knot: enough is enough.
> 
> 5. If I drop my tooth in the telephone
>     will it go through the wires and bite someone’s ear?
>     I have seen earlobes pierced by a tooth of steel.
>     It loves what lasts.
>     It does not love flesh.
>     It leaves a ring of gold in the wound.
> 
> 6. If I stand on my head
>     will the sleep in my eye roll up into my head?
>     Does the dream know its own father?
>     Can bread go back to the field of its birth? 
> 
> 7. Can I eat a star?
>    Yes, with the mouth of time
>    that enjoys everything.
> 
> 8. Could we Xerox the moon?
>     This is the first commandment:
> 
>     I am the moon, thy moon.
>     Thou shalt have no other moons before thee.
> 
> 9. Who invented water?
>     The hands of the air, that wanted to wash each other.
> 
> 10. What happens at the end of numbers?
>       I see three men running toward a field.
>       At the edge of the tall grass, they turn into light.
> 
> 11. Do the years ever run out?
>      God said, I will break time’s heart.
>      Time ran down like an old phonograph.
>      It lay flat as a carpet.
>      At rest on its threads, I am learning to fly.
> 
> 	- Nancy Willard
> 




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