at five
he knew
he knew nothing
and the world
was awash with possibility
and he
could be anything
and grown-ups
were super heroes who
could drive cars
could fix hurts
could help him reach the stars.
at fifteen
he knew
he knew everything
and the world
was just waiting for him to point the way
and he
could be everything
and grown-ups
were super villains who
could withhold the car keys
could cause hurts
but couldn't keep him from reaching the stars.
at thirty-five
he knew
he knew nothing
and the world
was just waiting to swallow him whole
and he
could control nothing
and yet he
was a super hero who
could shelter his family
could fix his children's hurts
could help them reach the stars.
at fifty-five
he knew
he knew everything
and the world
was built by men like him
and he
had mastered his world
and there were
no more super heroes -
just his home
just his family
just his view of the stars.
at eighty-five
he knew
he knew nothing
and the world was bigger
and stranger
than he could have imagined
and he
could control nothing
and his children
were super heroes who
could shelter him
could care for his hurts
could still see the stars
