Astrophysics for 5-Year-Olds by Gene Goldfarb

She took a seat on the ottoman

sort of first bouncing on it first

eager to listen from a comfy perch

so I started right in asking her

if she knew where light came from

-It’s just there,- she responded

as if this were a self-evident.

Next I told her light actually 

comes from the Sun. 

She seemed unsurprised.

I told her light waves travelled 

like little packages on buses 

one right behind the other.

That’s silly,- she insisted.

I told her light travels

so fast she couldn’t see 

 it happen and because the Sun 

 was so far away it took

light about eight minutes 

to get to the Earth.

She replied -Yes, but how long

does it take to Brooklyn?

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Gene Goldfarb has lived on Long Island for over four decades. He loves, reading, writing, travel, international cuisine, and movies and cartoons. He has written both poetry and short stories. His poetry has appeared in Black Fox, SLANT, Green Briar, Quiddity, Heavy Feather, Sheila-Na-Gig, the Daily Drunk, and elsewhere.