The kids were looking at the map tonight.
The World. Along the wall, above the table.
My son was asking what's the longest flight:
From Greenland to New Zealand? -- I was able
To give a fairly educated guess,
For measuring in hours. Twenty-four
Was pretty much my biggest, more or less.
But being who he is, he wanted more.
I tried to say there isn't any point
In flying any further than you need.
My answer only seemed to disappoint -
He always half expects that I exceed
His expectations. So it doesn't matter
If earth is flat, or round, or in between;
He wants to see superlatives all shatter,
And daily wonder at the unforeseen.
For now, his love of big and fast and high
Obscures an elegance of how to fly:
That if the trip takes longer than a day,
It makes more sense to go the other way.
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Alysa Salzberg
Melissa Miles McCarter
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Comments
Obscures an elegance of how to fly:"
So true of so many of us. But not you.
Obscures an elegance of how to fly:"
I see I've selected the same lines as the ladyslipper.
Two lines that capture a boy's fascination.
I'm once again enjoying your meter in my morning.