BEDTIME STORY

That night, I was telling
A bedtime story to my son
Curled up against me for warmth
Of Ali Baba and the Forty thieves
Which he already knew by heart
When, half-sleepily, he asked
“Why do we make a roof?
Is it to keep the rain out?”
It was not raining then,
Nor had it rained for a long time.
I was so startled by the
Irrelevance of the question,
All I could say was ‘yes’.
Later, when he was asleep, I thought
Child, you have discovered early
Half the truth; the other half
Will discover you in time.
It is not so much what we keep out
As what we try to keep in,
That makes us what we are.

Taufiq Rafat