Demeter Takes a Break
i am an old woman,
living in the woods.
i am a teacher to the birds.
i tell them about president rushmore
and the six colonies.
i teach them about the eiffel tower
falling down
and the fire on the london bridge.
i teach them about how
people can walk on ceilings and walls,
how eyes shift colors
depending on the mood.
i teach them how the continents
are moving back together,
about how physics were
disproven
and now i can make
everything bounce as high as i want.
i teach them that space is touchable
if they just reach out.
i teach them that the earth is flat
and you can fall right off the edge.
i teach them that the moon
is made of cheese
and the sun extinguishes at night.
i teach them that stars
are made of dust
and that you can breathe in space.
i teach them that i can fly
when they close their eyes,
i teach them that everything is impossible
until you dream about it.
i teach them that genies who grant wishes
live in deserts and
old hags in the woods are nothing but
goddesses taking a break from the heave