A Child’s Reply
~
A father passed his son’s room, and glanced in to see the boy sitting on the floor, seemingly staring at the wall. The father thought he might step in to the room to see why his son had his gaze fixed so intently on the far wall. Reconsidering, he walked on to the kitchen, thinking it better not to disturb the child.
Passing his son’s door again, he noticed the boy had not moved. This time the father stepped in to inquire what was going on. “What are you doing son?” Without turning, the son replied, “I’m listening.” The father marveled, “Listening to what son? There is nothing behind the wall except a space where the wind whistles”
Slowly turning to look at his father, the boy quietly said, “no dad, you’re wrong. When I close my eyes, I can hear the whole world.”
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Amazing conclusion to this piece, Rob. For sure children see the word differently to adults, and maybe they understand it better, too!
When I was young I could close my eyes, relax, and fly — listening to the whole world around me. It would get so intense sometimes it would frightem me — but I craved the feeling Ingrid.
I love that the child is the wise one in this piece.
The child Kim is still possessed of his sense of pure wonder, in other words, he is still magic!
I liked this one a lot! Listening to the void opens up the world. Very poetic and philosophical.
Thank you Tricia. I believe the world is full of wonder and magic that only the innocent young can truly and fully hear. As we grow older, we grow deaf from uncertainty, fear, trauma, prejudice, mistrust, and the simple loss of the ability to tap that wonder.
Oh my goodness–what a wonderful ending to this, Rob! Thank you!
I think children really can see and hear things that adults cannot (or have forgotten about).
I am so glad you liked this. I had written that witness to the horrible forest fires of this past summer. I needed to purge the sorrow I was feeling. Passed my grandson’s room and saw him sitting in there quietly, waiting for school to begin on his laptop. This poem seemed to form right there. It felt good and true.