You stretch your inquisitive head out the door.
"The sky sparkles"
You say as your obedient hand
Thrusts itself into the tempest.
And you shiver
Because it is cold and because you are learning.

The Sky collides with the Earth and rebounds,
Splashing your little face.
And you leap.
Soon, you are flying
Over the little patch of the world that belongs to you.
You don't know that everything must come down.
Nobody told you,
But this is how the world works.

You land with a splash in the mud.
It sticks and smears like the chocolate sauce you ate with Grandpa,
Last summer on top of the ice cream that tasted like winter.

But you don't mind because you don't know
It will get in your eyes and sting you and you'll have to have a bath.
And it will cover your prettiest Sunday dress,
The one you wore today to see Grandma,
And to watch a treasure box lowered into the ground.
You don't cry like the people at the party did.

You don't know that it won't come out, or that Daddy will be angry,or that Mommy will cry all week
Because you got your dress dirty.
Nobody told you.