The Beard

speak to me says the child as she pulls upon the beard
of her father who puts down his coffee to see her
curious and captured in the world of safety called daddy’s lap
and he smiles a tired smile
looking at the face of years gone by and many years to come.

and with a slight tilt to her head she asks
why the people stand at the red lights and hold up signs
and hold out their hands
and always look so very sad
so very tired and old and sad

and why when she went to the zoo did the goats eat grass
and people can’t do that
but they can eat broccoli and she doesn’t like it

and he marvels at the little foolish wonders and sighs at the thought
that someday she will learn
not the answers to these questions for we know (he thinks)
they lie in a region far beyond the realm of our wisdom
and so we will teach her and she will learn

she will learn to forget those questions with hiding answers
she will learn to forget the tired old man with
two shoes and not much more and she
will not have to reason why even they don’t match

for who are we if we cannot enjoy
the top of this heap and who am i he thinks if i
cannot teach my little one to sit and watch and forget

and so says he with beard and coffee
years and wisdom
house and land
and so says he with wife and children
run and racing
wind and sand

you see my child this life will one day
be your own and capture you
and you will have no need to worry
about the old man’s miss matched shoes

i see said the child with lips of purity as she released his beard