Red Kimono
(Lou & Peter Berryman, ©1996)
 

With sun on the aspidistra, with news on the motorola
I picked up my red kimono from the chair
With breakfast a little nearer, I glanced in the bureau mirror
Anxious as to who I'd see there
	It coulda been Oprah, it coulda been Elvis
	It coulda been Eva Gabor
	It coulda been Kerouac, it coulda been Balzac
	Or Mister Kashudak next door
	It coulda been Billy, my cousin in Philly
	Or Waylon or Willie or Robert E. Lee
	The Mona Lisa or Mother Theresa
	But it happened to be me

I went down to feed the budgie and plug in the Mr. Coffee
And fumble inconsequently with my hair
While peeling an avocado, I peeked out the kitchen window
Anxious as to what I'd see there
	It coulda been Cleveland, it coulda been Sweden
	It coulda been Mercury or Spain
	It coulda been Burnaby, British Columbia
	It coulda been Muncie or Maine
	The Mall of America or Buenaventura
	Or Montevideo Boulevard
	It coulda been Omaha, it coulda been Panama
	But it looked like our yard

Where standing among the clover, my darling along with Rover
Were watching the sun go over like a blur
With wonder and admiration I gazed at the situation
Perplexed at how lucky we were
	We coulda been isotopes, we coulda been cantaloupes
	We coulda been hatracks or dice
	We coulda been semaphores, we coulda been dinosaurs
	We coulda been cough drops or lice
	We coulda been roadmaps, a bucket of mousetraps
	A couple of big shoes on a bus
	We coulda been dipsticks or lavender lipsticks
	But we happened to be us

That night I had nightmares my life was remade
And the universe all rearranged
In the morning I gingerly opened my eyes
Afraid that the world may have changed

I rose from my hibernation to check out the situation
And soon my exhilaration filled the air
With sun on the aspidistra, with news on the motorola
I picked up my red kimono from the chair