Shaken

Earthquakes and hurricanes rattle some folks
But not me
When the whole east coast was shaking
I was lying down
To the left of two
Fidgeting
And occasionally fighting
Children
I didn’t feel a thing
I haven’t even acknowledged the hurricane at all
What choice do I have
After I was done reading her
Hurricane by David Wiesner
And Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey
My daughter would always ask whether we had hurricanes in Levittown
And I would say no
Which is
Coincidentally
What I said about earthquakes
No I’m not rattled by earthquakes
Explaining the world to a child, however …