Poetry and Prose

There was a quote I had read somewhere some time ago that went something like… “The first child is poetry, the last child is prose”. I don’t think this entirely true. Poetry and prose are both so intertwined in life that it’s impossible to draw the line between them.

But here’s an anecdote that made me wonder…

The other day (5 y.o.) Grace came home excitedly bursting to share some new mind-blowing information she learnt at science…

“Do you know how rain is made, mummy?” (How, baby?) “Okay, let me tell you… first the sun shines on all the rivers and lakes until tiny drops of water floats up to the sky… and then the drops of water stick together to make clouds… then when more and more water floats up, and then the clouds get fatter and fatter and FATTER until it BURSTS and falls down to the ground, and that is RAIN! Isn’t that amazing?” (So amazing!)

Compare that to this whimsical fancy from (8 y.o.) Nathan…

“Mummy, do you know what I think? I think when it rains, it's because a drop of cloud happened to fall down to earth and died, when his friend saw it, he started to cry and fell down as a teardrop and died too, then another drop of cloud cried and fell, then more and more other drops of cloud became sad started to cry… so they all start falling down as a teardrops to die too… then more clouds start crying and falling  and crying and falling and crying and falling… And that's rain.”

This is the kind of good stuff I get every day.

But despite the poetry vs. prose comparison, the so called ‘prosy’ one does serve up generous heaps of top quality dry humour. Here are a few recent highlights…

(Me): “So… I don’t want ANY more silliness for the rest of the afternoon.” (Nathan): “Yes, mummy.” (Me): “Did you hear me, Grace?” (Grace): “Yes. We are not allowed any more happiness this afternoon.”

“Mummy, I know what ‘SUSPENDED’ means.” (What does it mean, baby?). “It means the person will disappear from school”. 

(Grace repeating the nativity story she heard at school) “…And Mary had to have the baby in the barn… ‘Cause all the hotels were full.”

(Reflecting on some puzzling theology from sunday school) “…I know the teacher said God supposed to make all of us… But who made God??? He can’t just make himself… That doesn’t make any sense! (Well, some people believe God was just always there) “God was always just sitting and sitting there doing nothing? That’s so boring!”

“I like being the littlest one!” (Why?) “ ‘Cause I get to live longer… You all will die first.”

As for so called Mister Poetry, he is presently knee deep in some very serious prose…

He has been especially intrigued by the (somewhat confusing) love interest of Harry Potter and another female character.

Here are some reflections on the subject…

“Why do they have to have a ball? I think it will feel so strange.” (Well, that’s usually in high school, maybe when you are in high school you might like dancing at a ball… after all you do like dancing around yourself). “Noooo… that’s different… I’m just mucking around… a ball is so proper and serious.”

“Oh my goodness! Harry has to ask Cho to the ball! That will be so embarrassing! I can't stand it!” (Maybe you can buddy up with your best friend like Harry and Ron) “Yeah, maybe… but I hope we both end up in the same high school!” (Maybe you can ask Grace to go with you) “Noooo… I like Grace, but you can’t go to a ball with your sister!”

“Mummy what is is like to fall in love? Like, how do you like… FALL in love?” (Oh it’s not very hard… usually it happens when you meet someone really nice and like them so much you just want to be around each other forever). “Like you and daddy?” (Yes) “Hmmmm… okay…” (You’re not in love with anyone are you?) “Noooo…!!!!” (Alright, just checking… will you tell me if you are?) “Well… only if you promise not to laugh… then maybe.”

(Grace interjects at this point to put forward her case for getting married to each other when they grow up. Nathan protests loudly and tries to explain why the idea is inconceivable. Grace ends up in tears feeling deeply rejected. But we’ll delve into that another time.)