Tom sees the world differently.
He looks up into the night 
and sees the moon as a hole
letting light through from a brighter space.
When he told his sister this,
she laughed and said he was crazy.
The moon was a ball, 
men had walked on it.
He smiled and said the stars
were the brighter space
shining through pin pricks in night's curtain.
His mother was gone 
longer than he could remember.
His father said she was in heaven.
He told his father he saw his mother in the light,
that she had poked the holes
and came through the stars.
His father smiled and said, 
“Maybe so, Tom. That's a nice thought.”

Tom sees the world differently.
When he walks his dog, Flick,
the cracks in the sidewalk
are places where the earth can breathe,
where grass and wildflowers
pop through to wave hello.
He looks across the sea of dandelions
growing on his neighbor's lawn.
His sister says the neighbor
should do something about those weeds
before the whole block is covered.
Tom sees a million good wishes
waiting to come true, and for once, 
hopes his sister is right 
about them spreading everywhere.

Tom sees the world differently
and wishes more people did too.

~Elise Skidmore ©2021

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