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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