AnElephantCant hide a dark secret
He feels that at this point it must be revealed
Michael’s photo is super
But AnElephant makes a blooper
He just cannot find a good rhyme for field

AnElephant makes another illiterate assault on this great weekly challenge hosted by his friend Al.
And he again thanks Al for his ongoing efforts with this site.
Please take a moment to check out this page to see some superb interpretations of the Japanese Haibun, a literary form which explores the relationship between the human experience and nature.

This week he chooses this quote as his inspiration:
“Grown up, and that is a terribly hard thing to do.
It is much easier to skip it
and go from one childhood to another.”
– F. Scott Fitzgerald

the teacher by anelephantcant

Childhood

When my daughter told me she was about to produce my first grandchild, I was pleased but not overly excited.
An absent and, sadly, too often uninvolved father, I did not expect to dally overmuch with the next generation.
Well, as it turned out, for a variety of reasons, I spent literally hundreds of hours in his company, mostly just one on one.
And he taught me more than anyone else in my life.
About puddles and trees.
And tadpoles and dinosaurs.
And big trucks and silly songs.
About Puff and frozen ponds.
About wobbly sticks and ice cream.
About trees and birds, museums and unmatched socks.
Double-decker buses and giraffes.
About magic and about laughter.
He taught me how to look at the world afresh again.
And to love life.
In short, (okay, not very!) he taught me to be a  child again.
So now, when I walk knee deep with rolled up trousers in the winter Mediterranean and people ask me if it is cold, I see his laughing face.
I smile, shake my head, and thank him for my life.

there is no cold
for a child
who is having fun