Like a Child

                                               

                                 LIKE A CHILD.

                          Eating peanuts;
Picking split lobes of peanuts while at it,
Till ‘am left with the full ones,
Pausing to gaze at them’
Unwilling to eat them.
Kicking stones.
Through the spaces
Scoring effete goals
Picking out faces of strangers
Off the walls and floors,
In the loo,
In my room,

In the clouds.
Searching for answers to questions unspoken.
I have seen faces in the full moon;
The one Caucasian and frowning,
The other was black, mustachioed, and grinning.

I laugh to myself
When indeed I write numbers, names
On my palms, lest I forget details.
Make a sing-song of street addresses
Knowing I may never go there again.

As I transit through life
I can’t help wishing for that childhood
Yet, it always dawns on me
That it would imply the repeat of my various deprivations
Which a certain lack of responsibility cannot wish away.