I ask my daughter to name the planets.
"Venus ...Mars ...and Plunis!" she says.
When I was six or seven my father
woke me in the middle of the night.
We went down to the playground and lay
on our backs on the concrete looking up
for the meteors the tv said would shower.
I don't remember any meteors. I remember
my back pressed to the planet Earth,
my father's bulk like gravity next to me,
the occasional rumble from his throat,
the apartment buildings dark-windowed,
the sky close enough to poke with my finger.
Now, knowledge erodes wonder.
The niggling voce reminds me that the sun
does shine on the dark side of the moon.
My daughter's ignorance is my bliss.
Through her eyes I spy like a voyeur.
I travel in a rocket ship to the planet Plunis.
On Plunis I no longer long for the past.
On Plunis there are actual surprises.
On Plunis I am happy.
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1. Reaction: The last two stanzas surprised me and had to re-read it to understand it's meaning. The last part threw me off.
2. Meaning: The forgotten planet is Pluto and today Pluto is no longer a planet. But the author is recalling a memory from his past and he's realizing that knowledge is changing from the time he was a boy. But I think the poem is just him remembering his past and comparing his memories to what his daughter is learning. She called Pluto Plunis because it's no longer a planet, so it's not important and the new generation is starting to forget its name.
3. Technique: free write
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