Home >Oasis > Poetry > "Otherwise" by Jane Kenyon

Process:

1. Quiet yourself and imagine dropping
down into the dark abundant well of your
soul. Take a few moments to feel that deep place and become aware of God's presence there.

2. Silently read the poem completely
through once.

3. Read the poem out loud.

4. Slowly read the poem again silently,
savoring the phrases, the words, the feel,
the taste of it.

5. On a blank piece of paper or on a page in your journal, complete the following:

a. The first image that arose in me as I read this poem was...

b. My immediate feelings after reading this poem are...

c. The reality that has been unearthed for me by reading this poem is...

d. If I were to paint a picture about this poem I would include my work of art...

e. If I were to add a line of my own somewhere in this poem it would be...

6. Read the poem out loud again, but this time as a prayer to God.

7. Sit in silence to see if God has a response to make to you.

8. End with your own prayer or poem of thanksgiving.

Otherwise
by Jane Kenyon
©2005 by the Estate of Jane Kenyon

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 birchwood.
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.

"Otherwise," by Jane Kenyon, reprinted from COLLECTED POEMS with the permission of Graywolf Press, Saint Paul, Minnesota.

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