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.
~ Jane Kenyon, from “Otherwise“ in Collected Poems. The poem was written shortly before Kenyon died of leukemia at age 47.
Photo: Christopher Gould