A TREE AND A BOY

I take him for a walk
he takes me on a journey
into the remote
and alien world
called youth

with the power

of the primitive instinct
called curiosity
countless volumes of investigation

within two common suburban blocks

for this child who’s yet to see

two birthdays

unnecessary are the grand and infinite
attention is captured completely
by trivial, by minute

they tug and pull him from the sidewalk
into the grass
I pick him up and return him 

to the concrete

but only briefly

the simplest things draw

his attention repeatedly
and he must investigate

a mailbox, a feather, the bumper of a parked car
a dandelion 

each a careful case study
he babbles a detailed explanation of his findings
but I cannot understand the report
I can’t comprehend his teachings
I return him to the sidewalk

again, ignorant defiance masked under a soft hum
wanders off the path once more

in the distance
cars stream oblivious

past a long line of trees
he is captivated

by only one
standing before me

he investigates bark, sap
and each individual needle

like an ancient alchemist
working with the four elements
earth, wind , water
and he is the fire

I fetch a pine cone and offer it up to him
but it's cast aside
the student teaches, he simply
taps the branches, shakes them
and watches

tornadoes, earthquakes and tsunamis

all ease

the flood waters recede

he glitters

with innocence

that calms the forces of nature

Syria, Obamacare, and the Immigration reform
the unrelenting voices reporting 

review, analysis, and fear

it all fades

replaced by the sparkle in 

his eyes

he solves the debt crisis
with a blink

not always, but in these moments
salvation is granted

illness is cured
the nightmares and demons
stress and pressure, the past, and regret
all halt
and retreat

and vanish
there is only
a tree
and a boy