the child hidden in the adult

CHOO-CHOO BOY

he could be thirty five,
forty two or maybe fifty
yet he insists his name is choo-choo boy
“I ain't become a grown-up
and never will
for too much seriousness does the imagination kill
and when l used to fly kites
instead of going to school
my dad would call me half admonishingly
‘where have you been, you good for nothin',you choo choo boy, next time I'll drown you in the pool’”
you ought to see what lies
on the rim of his desk
that gives him wings and gills and fire
his mind takes off as soon as he feels blue
'tis the Dakota lighter and the paper-cutter sailboat
resting by an immaculate space shuttle
with, in its payload compartment, erasers and clips
yet the one thing he relishes most,
even though he's never ridden it, safe in the dreams fueled by Gary Cooper
and 'ole Mae West,
is the Western choo choo train
which serves as his magic piggy bank
with each coin he drops in, he claims,
the heart gets younger
and eternity closer
for, contrary to common belief,
the future is not the arrow
but the bow stretched
to a perfect circle