I TELL YOU THE TRUTH

Kids know things. They know fish
like water better than air. They can wear
tiny hats. They know how to look small

and shy under great naked oak trees.
They can make the sound of a siren.
Sometimes I will inexplicably catch them

looking up, as if for an answer.
They can close their hands around door knobs;
some can turn and open. They know

in order to get more, you must first
have nothing. This they also know
how to do: have nothing.