My little boy stomped his foot

whenever I said, “I don’t know”

 

He asked me at the zoo

about the ferocity of the lion;

 

on long walks

about scattering skies;

 

in the garden

about the elegant caterpillar

 

I could only speculate

 

Older, I led him by the hand

to show how the ocean

meets the land and repeated,

“Never say never

Never say always”

 

Older still, I told him

that once as a boy

I called the AM radio station

to report the disappearance

of the moon and how foolish

I felt when the DJ laughed

at me and said, “Kid,

that’s why they call it

an eclipse”