Dwelling

There's painting going on at my house.
Not the kind I usually do.
In fact, I'm not the one painting.


There are professionals at work here,
or will be when the sun comes up,
painting the exterior of my house
in a nice, understated gray
with just a hint of brown for the body
and darker related colors for trim
and the front door.

It's funny when I think of it.

I've been told that my upcoming trip to Egypt
for a writing seminar and initiation into spiritual mysteries
will be transformative.

I will undergo metamorphosis.

And here I am,
transforming the place where my body dwells.
I'm getting ready to shed my outer skin.

In just over a year,
I've replaced all the carpet,
painted all the rooms with carpet,
gutted two bathrooms and rebuilt them from the ground up.

Not to mention gutting my savings account.

I've ordered cabinet knobs and pulls
for the kitchen and the two bathrooms
that don't have cabinet "jewelry."

The carriage lights I ordered have arrived,
just in time for the painters to replace the old ones
when they're finished painting.

Is this foreshadowing?

Will my interior life,
like my house,
be transformed?

Or will I come back
from my photography workshop
and my writing workshop
and the wander around Egypt
just my old familiar self?