#8 Niche by Emma McKervey

Niche

Niches fill with what you wish them to contain.

The recess in the temple’s mosaic laden wall

is thought to be filled with what is numinous.

The lamp burns in the darkness there,

in the silent penumbra lies the meeting of two worlds,

From such a retreat so much can be seen when one looks.

There is a simple niche in the crook of a summer oak’s bough.

From there the infinite can be found between the layering of leaves,

from there even the tick of the sundial can be heard.

In this house though the numinous lives in the niche of fireplace,

and on the bookshelves; it rattles the cutlery in the drawer,

the spoons and forks strain to accommodate all that is wished for them to hold.