Poem #26 National Poetry Month

My son has a new pastime that has come up within the last month. It is adding to his fascination of geography and languages and how the continents formed and broke apart. He loves beginning sentences lately with the phrase,”200 Million years ago, the continents were a supercontinent called Pangaea….”

Paleozoic Puzzle Popper

“When will there be Pangaea again, Mama?”

You laugh running wild half gallop,

half rabbit racing but unlike the silent roadster

You grunt laugh with little squeals at the ends

Replete with thoughts about the supercontinent

 Pangaea you know is a past era but you long for it in the future

I somehow understand

Seeing the excitement of something that was sure it happened,

no guessing to what will be or could be

It was is a solid ground to start from

For you to launch into because you know what is there

and what will be beneath your feet

Even though the era you choose is also about continental drift

you are more concerned with before the continents move

before they launch out on their own

You want one sturdy mass

Where everything is connected

and there is no disconnect

You want to walk around everywhere

You love to fly,

but being able to take your time and stride across the world

 is mastering everything you wrestle with and are fascinated by

To stroll, not dig your way to China is an intoxicating fantasy

You riff on what you would do

 If you could

If this was real

 In your mind it is coming

And it will be

Off you will go and leave me behind

Sure that the past will support your vision of the future

I fantasize too about that bittersweet goodbye

 As you wave to me and walk to France

For the very first time alone