Reece Burkaauthor

The poetic city: “Baby Einstein 8/12/16”

Jan 07, 2019 • Creative Writing

(Photo: Wiki Commons)

Baby Einstein 8/12/16

Flinging handfuls of rocks

into the puddles

beside the bandstand…

One after another,

again and again…

the toddler doesn’t stop.

I observe from a distance…

amazed by his persistence,

the seriousness of his endeavor,

and the way his parents stand by

chatting amiably, while maintaining

a watchful eye.

The father explains

his son has been doing this

since he could walk,

only several months before.

So, whenever there is

a particularly heavy rain,

father and son don their

boots and go on a hunt

for the biggest puddles

in the park

Never tiring, the boy doesn’t stop,

even when a brace of ducks

waddle over to investigate

the commotion in hopes

of finding something to eat.

Eventually, the ducks leave

as do I – astonished by the thought

that I may be witnessing

a baby Einstein determined

to understand the dynamics

of the wave action created

by the force of a solid mass

in collision with a liquid surface…

Then, I find myself just as

astonished by parents who seem

to know exactly what they are doing

and why….

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