The Chosen
By DAVID KARENA-HOLMES
(For my daughter, Sonata)
Choosing to go one way
involves not going some other way.
How many are the other ways?
Choosing to do one thing
involves not doing some other thing.
How many are the other things?
Choosing to be in one place
involves not being in some other place.
How many are the other places?
Choosing to use one word
involves not using some other word.
How many are the other words?
Always, the others are many.
Few are the chosen.
• David Karena-Holmes is a Dunedin writer. His most recent book Genesis (selected poems) was published in 2009 by Maungatua Press.
