Root for the little guy, for he is us.

The above video, "i lived on the moon", has inspired me to poetry. It is animated by Yannick Puig, who was inspired by the band Kwoon's music to make this for their song. The combination of image, story and soundtrack are absolutely stunning.

I've been living in an imaginary world lately. My young one has reached the age where an unfamiliar sound outside the window most definitely means a lion is approaching. We instantly morph from parent and child into two explorers saving baby animals as we run from the predator, our arms full of plush creatures. Tinker toys become a satellite space station, until it breaks and spills rocket fuel all over our carpet. Then a dinosaur with a mop appears but admits it cannot clean the entire mess by itself. So three firemen, one firelady, and another dinosaur with a special "cleaning mouth" show up to help. And these were just some of today's adventures.

At this age, children create imaginary monsters and conflicts in order to problem solve, to develop mastery over social skills, to learn to deal with emotions. Seeing this now with my own child, it's so clear how this rich pretend world helps to cement feelings of self-confidence and budding independence. We have to do this, and we've all gone through this. We humans are wired to do so. The mythical quest to overcome obstacles and grow beyond them will forever be a basis of our stories — our most personal and private ones, and those we share as a culture.

Seeing my little one face and overcome these pretend, yet also very real, frights leaves me speechless most days. I've seen already that I can't provide all the answers to these big questions, but I also know that being there, like the steadiest rock, in the process, is so vitally important. This video somehow helped me find words around it:

We hold hands
To explore and imagine together,
To create and tell our stories,
To face monsters.
Our hands still touch
Even when
You are on the moon
And I am at my tree.
I will see you
Because I can fly now!
Through it,
Above it,
I can do it.
I'll be there soon.

Visit Poetry Thursday for a vast collection of poetry from our community.

Comments

[Tumblewords]

How true. Nicely captured!

[Nicole]

the imagination is a powerful thing, especially the imagination of a child. this captures it delightfully.

[...deb]

Holy-moly, your post blew my mind and I was completely captivated by the video.

(I read your essay first, then watched the video, and finished with your poem.)

Fantastic. Thank you.

Wow. (Here via PT; I'll be back!)

[KG]

Tumblewords — Thanks for your comment and visit here!

Nicole — Thanks for this. Do you feel the adult imagination is (or can be) as powerful as a child's?

...deb — Now your comment has blown my mind! I'm honored you spent so much time here, and glad my post touched you. I'll be over to visit your blog soon!

[mindblob]

KG,
Breathless... your post brought (happy) tears to my eyes. It is so touching, so extra-ordinary... wonder-full and full of childhood wonders. Thank you for sharing. : )

PS : And the video is excellent! I love animation films and this one is particularly brilliant.

[KG]

Hi Mindblob/Luc! Thank you so much for appreciating my writing on what I find to be a very complex aspect of parenting. With your being a parent yourself, I know you can identify with all of this.

I'm so glad you enjoyed the video! :)