Today’s poem is taken from Knopf Poetry, which was e-mailed to me during Knopf’s “Poem-a-Day” celebration for National Poetry Month. It features the work of Nancy Willard, whose picture book “A Visit to William Blake’s Inn” received the Newbery Medal in 1982.
Nancy Willard’s poem reminds us that the child’s view is essentially poetic, while the poet’s view retains something of the child’s curiosity and hope.
Poetry Friday round-up is hosted this week by Kiesha at Whispers from the Ridge.
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
Some men hear butterflies
even in winter.
3. Are they part of our family?
They forgot us, who forgot how to
4. Who tied my navel? Did God tie it?
God made the thread: O man, live
Man made the knot: enough is
5. If I drop my tooth in the telephone
will it go through the wires and bite
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
Does the dream know its own
Can bread go back to the field of its
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
9. Who invented water?
The hands of the air, that wanted to
wash each other.
10. What happens at the end of
I see three men running toward a
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
It lay flat as a carpet.
At rest on its threads, I am learning