Issue Eleven - September 2007

A Door to Two Places

By Tom Odegard

Today, I intended to build a wall,
install a door,
this poem got in the way.
A poem about hallways, passages,
lights and switches; a single door
serving two separate rooms
requiring two latching jambs and
one complete set of old hinges.
This puzzle resonates with
my genetic disposition
what pleasure to find myself
swinging on a single jamb
separating different rooms,
different lives and visions.
We’re happy as one or other,
but best of all prefer siblings,
partners, friends, lovers
meeting in the small hall
when our door is both ways open.

This poem addresses two large issues in my life: An apartment we own had a single bathroom accessed off a bedroom. To accommodate other tenants, a hall was created in the bedroom and the original door to the bedroom, when half open, closed the bedroom but left access to the bathroom. The door when closed in its original frame gave access to the bathroom from the bedroom. This single door providing multiple entrances/exits is a “nice” parallel to my “Two Spirit” XXY on the 23rd chromosome condition. – Tom Odegard

Tom Odegard 's poetry has been published in two books, Past Lives Led, Friends Well Met, from Beatitude Press, and 5 self-published chapbooks. Other poems have been published in collections in the SF Bay Area including Sacred Grounds, Blue and Gold, and Spasso's. He lives on San Juan with his wife and eight chickens.

All work by Tom Odegard

Posted in Poetry |