Poems to explain the cosmos to a 6-year-old
When my six-year-old daughter turned to me and asked, “Daddy, why is there a world?” I knew I was up against a serious challenge. This was no time to be flippant. So I told her I would need a little time to put together an answer worthy of her question. Then I sat down and wrote this.
Why There’s a World
Once upon a time there was a time before the time
And in that time no space no place, for reason or for rhyme
No stars, no moons, no ice cream cones, not even empty air
Nothing, no way and no how, and nothing anywhere
Then fourteen billion years ago a bubble went kaboom
Our universe appeared just like a baby from a womb
A scattering of heat and gas across an open sky
Created out of nothing, spreading out as time goes by
Quickly stars were born and for the first time there was light
Burning hot they brought the day to end that long, long night
And then eight planets came to form around a certain star
And one of them began to churn like cabbage in a jar
Frothing and fermenting, spawning microscopic life
Rising from the foamy mist of oceanic strife
Our earliest ancestors learned to crawl up on the land
They shed their scales and buffed their nails and metamorphosed and
Soon they started scaling trees, subsisting on their fruit
Snacking on bananas, yes, but never on a newt
Recognizing dangers, most especially the snake
These clever apes discovered simple tools that they could make
Another million years and they climbed down to take a stroll
In search of newer ways in which to make their lives more full
The discovery of fire, it made everything more fun
Providing heat and light and rather like a little sun
Cooking food meant eating better, growing larger brains
For domesticating livestock and cultivating grains
Along came books and science, and cantatas penned by Bach
Oh what an epic journey, on our spinning little rock
Being a father is not easy. My response went a bit over her head, and I felt sort of lousy about that. At the same time, I realized that my explanation lacked the element of divine intervention that so many people expect and crave from a creation story. So I wrote an alternative response, knowing I’d have to wait a few years—or several—before she would appreciate it.
Why in the World — the Anapest Alternative
When on high in the hall of almighty creation
A clockmaker works with precise calibration
Adjusting the springs and perfecting his pulleys
A cosmos conceived without mishaps or follies
The gears are wound tight for a bang of release
The original case of disturbing the peace
A universe born with no boundary or border
His laws are enacted with consummate order
As every last detail earns careful attention
Designed with a purpose, by way of intention
Not one thing at random, through chaos or chance
Everything planned like a synchronized dance
The Creator, Scorekeeper, and Giver of Light
Gave us skills to discern what is good and what’s right
Morality jells, with cognition unfolding
And righteous commandments we’re charged with upholding
Now every injustice is wrought with a reason
But sorrow and joy will appear in due season
Maybe not what you want, or what you deserve
But you’ll get what you need, and you’ll surely observe
That wrongdoers sometimes are blessed and rewarded
With more than the high-minded man is afforded
It’s wisdom obscure from the Bringer of Days
His cryptic, mysterious, inscrutable ways
Just don’t get discouraged, should you suffer on earth
For the gold in your heart is your ultimate worth
If you’ve enjoyed these verses, you might also like to see my collection of poems on human physiology or my compendium of limericks.
