Living in the Otherwise

Otherwise


I got out of bed
on two strong legs.
It might have been
otherwise. I ate
cereal, sweet
milk, ripe, flawless
peach. It might
have been otherwise.
I took the dog uphill
to the birch wood.
All morning I did
the work I love.


At noon I lay down
with my mate. It might
have been otherwise.
We ate dinner together
at a table with silver
candlesticks. It might
have been otherwise.
I slept in a bed
in a room with paintings
on the walls, and
planned another day
just like this day.
But one day, I know,
it will be otherwise.


~ Jane Kenyon

I live now
in the Otherwise.
My legs are strong
enough to carry 
the emptied vessel
of my mated self. The rest
of me remembers
on occasion
to eat. Peaches
are many months
down the road, and my bed
is ripe
with an absence
that will soon fall
from the tree. The birch
forest quivers and peels
in patches as I dream. 
Two new paintings,
Buddhas, grace
and guard
my bed. Otherwise,
for now, gazes


through me
as I open my
singular eyes. I am turning
with the world.


~ 1/20/2011