Flatus

When my tum misbehaves

with abdominal wind,

I think of my son as a tot.

Now I risk my health by telling you this

for the story belongs to that category, that sort,

that’s tricky..

It’s much like the photo

we take of our kids

when they’re tiny and small,

(you know - of them naked near the bath or the pot,)

thinking it’s cute when it’s not really at all

to them later.

One day standing quietly he let go a fart

and knew in an instant it came from the part

of his body used for another task.

In surprise he stood still, then suddenly said

in a voice filled with awe

and with eyes filled with mirth:

“Did you hear that, Mummy?