This poem was written in response to the question, “Why is there something instead of nothing?”
Sixteen Short Sentences About Being
By Kortney Garrison
A honey bee flew by your open window.
A squirrel, no more than a scrap of tail and bundle of fur,
found a walnut buried last year.
The chestnut leafed out while you waited out the rain.
The pink camellia blooms, more flowers than leaves.
Your cat watches a yew beetle all afternoon.
Your mother-in-law misplaced the toaster in the linen closet.
Some days you open the window shade and a bald eagle
rises above the house tops.
The river will carry you.
A crow hides among the cherry blossoms.
A woman crossed the border and birthed a child. The girl
became your brother’s daughter.
The moon.
Art supplies, school supplies, birthday presents,
library books–the oak desk welcomes all.
Fishing season opened for one long day, and your baskets overflowed.
Nothing is lost.
You take a feather as a sign.
The fields are muddy, but it’s only a season.
Lily Tobias 
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