He Knows

The child lifts an entire
earth up in his little arms.
He lifts it like a pumpkin in a
cemetery, or the corpse head
of a giant full of leaves.
He laughs and he knows how he
plays with the earth
as it is lifted in his little arms,
he knows--it’s delightful lifting
this earth, this head, this
pumpkin even if it is dead,
and playing with it as the
laughter comes.