Curiosity?

Did curiosity tempt you as a child?  In what ways did you explore nature beyond the technological world?

How did teachers applaud your creativity or dampen your spirit?

Did you want to run away and join the circus?  What trouble did you get into?   Did you write about a world without adults?

Capture a few memories and see where they lead.

Ask the Right Questions

In school they expected me to color
inside squares, circles, or triangles.
When I tinted mountains turquoise,
they tested my hearing.

My head swiveled to Stellar jays
gone raucous.  Mother called
me indoors for dinner,
my ears stayed numb,
fingers alert to crushed lavender.
As honeysuckle slipped
along my tongue.

Why didn't they ask about
wrigglings under stones,
whir of squirrel whiskers
or the sound of dew?
I found answers
in wet dawn
where tadpoles glisten.
                       - Penny Wilkes