A New Song of Innocence and Experience

A New Song of Innocence and Experience
               after “Paula, I” by Carlos Muro Aguado (Madrid 1947-)

A child’s eyes are full of vulnerable curiosity,

a sense of wonder tinged with a touch of fear,

no sign of adult defiance or animosity,

they look straight at you, but you almost hear

those questions of what we’re doing, why we’re here

starting to grow. A child’s eyes trust

that a mother knows, a father can, a sheer

unblinking faith they hold to because they must,

a faith that slowly turns into something more,

a gentleness easily lost, the necessity of care

too fragile, too valuable to possibly ignore

with no pretentiousness, no sign of despair

when the predictable is full of possibility

to eyes enabled by the mischief of naivety.