A little boy pried loose the rock
and lifted it for fun,
opening the city there
to unaccustomed sun..
.He saw the screams he couldn't hear
As ants wove all around
And then he made them disappear
By stomping on the ground
His mother came to stare at him
and squeeze his shoulders firm:
How'd you like if you had been
a tiny helpless worm
And I was some big monster
just playing peek-a-boo,
and kicked the roof right off your house
and smashed you with my shoe?
and I was like a thousand times
more big and strong than you??
He looked down at the lives he'd wrecked
(plus, Mama's fingers hurt)
and from that moment, gained respect
for things that live in dirt
(because if not,
he wasn't going
to be allowed dessert.)..
K Mitchell