04-22-2017, 02:54 PM
At what age do our opinions about dirt change?
As babies, we eat sand by the fistful
and mouth gravel. As preschoolers, we wallow
in mud like pigs and hippos, sculpting
mud castles and towers, monuments
to ambition and unsanitary abandon.
As grade schoolers, we search for earthworms,
grubs, and obscure beetles with magnifying glasses,
assignments for science classes that would never fly
with high schoolers. Do you remember
the first time you realized
that your hands were dirty?
I suspect it was when a friend
or a clean cut girl
told you that dirt isn't sexy,
and you'd better clean up
if you ever wanted to get filthy.
As babies, we eat sand by the fistful
and mouth gravel. As preschoolers, we wallow
in mud like pigs and hippos, sculpting
mud castles and towers, monuments
to ambition and unsanitary abandon.
As grade schoolers, we search for earthworms,
grubs, and obscure beetles with magnifying glasses,
assignments for science classes that would never fly
with high schoolers. Do you remember
the first time you realized
that your hands were dirty?
I suspect it was when a friend
or a clean cut girl
told you that dirt isn't sexy,
and you'd better clean up
if you ever wanted to get filthy.