I will be survived by this open acre
ringed by cedars and firs, this
meadow collecting yellow light,
where today, alive, I linger
in the listening, housed in a shape
capable of such ordinary song. I wish
to thank the minerals in my bones
and all this borrowed epiphany, all this
Someday, If I Am Lucky
Matthew Nienow
Matthew Nienow is the author of House of Water and If Nothing, both from Alice James Books. His work has appeared in Gulf Coast, Missouri Review, New England Review, Ploughshares, and Poetry. He lives in Port Townsend, Washington with his wife and two sons, where he works as a mental health counselor.