The Conditional by Ada Limón

MARGINALIA • SKIP TO THE POEM

1.
Years ago I was in front of another big window, in another city, my last night there for a while. I’ve packed what I can, trying to discern what I need and what I don’t, and if I can live with that.

2.
I sometimes want to carry my whole house on my back. I’m a creature of habit, it’s only justified, I tell myself. I want to move but I don’t want to leave. What does that say about me?

3.
And then sometimes I want to leave everything behind. Start over, the whole shebang. I’ll even pick a new name. Is that running away from who I am or the sheer adventure of a lifetime?

4.
I tell G. in a letter: Will I ever have it together? 

5.
I don’t feel that you’ve been so much broken as rearranged, he writes back to me. 

The Conditional
Ada Limón

Say tomorrow doesn’t come.
Say the moon becomes an icy pit.
Say the sweet-gum tree is petrified.
Say the sun’s a foul black tire fire.
Say the owl’s eyes are pinpricks.
Say the raccoon’s a hot tar stain.
Say the shirt’s plastic ditch-litter.
Say the kitchen’s a cow’s corpse.
Say we never get to see it: bright
future, stuck like a bum star, never
coming close, never dazzling.
Say we never meet her. Never him.
Say we spend our last moments staring
at each other, hands knotted together,
clutching the dog, watching the sky burn.
Say, It doesn’t matter. Say, That would be
enough. Say you’d still want this: us alive,
right here, feeling lucky..

[expand title=”Endnotes” tag=”h6″ expanded=”true”]

This poem appeared in Bright Dead Things: Poems by Ada Limón, published by Milkweed Editions, 2015. Shared here with profound gratitude.

Read more works by Ada Limón • Find books by this poet • Or view my library 

Explore poems in pursuit of: tomorrows • living • grace • Or browse the index

[/expand]

[expand title=”Dear Reader” tag=”h6″]

This little corner of the world is my passion project since 2005. My commitment is that it will always remain free to all. If this place holds meaning for you, would you consider supporting it? This can be in the form of a cup of coffee (+ other ways).

Note that Read A Little Poetry may receive a small commission if you make a purchase through any links on this site. It is at no additional cost to you and helps in the upkeep of this space.

Thank you for being here all these years—and into the future—as I hold poets to the light.

[/expand]

[expand title=”On This Day” tag=”h6″]

[/expand]

[expand title=”Pin This” tag=”h6″]

[/expand]

—

You might also like these:

I Remember the Carrots by Ada Limón The Leash by Ada Limón Moon in the Window by Dorianne Laux Sometimes by Mary Oliver Imagine Sisyphus Happy by Nicole Sealey