The Need to Know

sun glows in a night sky

the moon has tricked me in my travels

I momentarily forget…

so I turn away from

what will damage my eyes

instead, I observe two tiny boys 

they fidget in their seats  

they’re just old enough that their parents have paid for their tickets. 

they don’t yet comprehend the

concept of aerodynamics or the

mystery of astronomy 

for fun, they compare their small feet, a sole to sole match

twins with a case of the giggles

they chatter in French about planes queued up on the tarmac, and though I do not fully understand 

it’s more the earnest expression 

in their voices that enchants

pulled like gravity toward

incessant nods of agreement 

all big brown eyes, murmurs,

and burgeoning intellect  

bounce thoughts off each others’ two-year-old brains and tongues

I settle for eavesdropping 

I want to know their words

to encourage them to always be good

I hope they preserve their friendship, 

that their bond will shield them from a sun filled with so much 

that they’ll never need to know.