Until

Learning is like climbing a ladder 

rolling over in our crib

pulling ourselves up by the bars

clambering up stairs

without fear of falling

until we do

and then we climb up again

or fall asleep on the stairs

until it’s time to climb again

up over rocks and roots and fences

coming home with torn and bloodied jeans 

crying and wanting to give up

until curiosity wipes my tears and whispers

that there’s something out there I need to know

to answer why

to figure it out

to work out the puzzle

until homework gets boring but story is exciting

in movies and you-tube and video and books

then policy and practice and procedure

answering why

figuring it out

puzzling and working

until steps up into another world

of learning to feel abundance at home,

in our gardens and parks,

sidewalks and streets

until one rung at a time

hands gripping the stringers
we are almost at the top of the ladder…

“Study hard what interests you the most in the most 

undisciplined, irreverent and original manner possible.”

~ Richard Feynman, physicist