Poem for Monday and Eye Surgery Distraction

The Kitten 

By Mary Oliver 

More amazed than anything

I took the perfectly black

stillborn kitten

with the one large eye

in the center of its small forehead

from the house cat's bed

and buried it in a field

behind the house.

I suppose I could have given it

to a museum,

I could have called the local

newspaper.

But instead I took it out into the field

and opened the earth

and put it back

saying, it was real,

saying, life is infinitely inventive,

saying, what other amazements

lie in the dark seed of the earth, yes,

I think I did right to go out alone

and give it back peacefully, and cover the place

with the reckless blossoms of weeds. 

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I had a laser iriditomy on my left eye on Monday to prevent narrow angle glaucoma, which apparently other family members of mine have had, so I'm assuming the ophthalmologist was right when he said my narrow angles were inherited and nothing lifestyle changes could have affected. The procedure was a bit uncomfortable but not painful, for which I am very grateful, but now I am extremely sleepy and I don't know if there's a relationship. 

I had to have my ocular pressure taken an hour after the procedure, so I walked across the street to the big Factoria shopping center and wandered around Petco for a bit talking to animals. The rest of my day was relatively uneventful, involving laundry, reorganizing some jewelry, and walking to the lake since yet again we had spectacular weather (and both eagles in the tree right above our porch). Now it's Resident Alien time. From the pet store: