The Kitchen

by Max Hjortsberg

When you walk through the door of the past
be careful not to close it, leave it slightly cracked,
allowing the light of the present
to cut through the darkness,
one of Ariadne’s lesser–known tricks
for finding your way back.

Like a dream
the past is a place dark around the edges.
You’ll still notice the wind in the trees,
hear birdsong and not know what bird is singing,
and find yourself in the end sitting in the kitchen
letting the daylight fade without turning on the lights.