By Melissa Fritchle
PROMPT — During COVID-19 ...
I dropped all of my clothes
at the doorway,
stepped outside and stretched
my body out on the wool blanket
in the noon sun.
I thought lazily of pruning
and how to keep clear
the spot under the rock rose
where my cat likes to sleep.
Near enough to hear wings beat,
a hummingbird came to visit,
and so did my love,
and my naked body absorbed sun,
a celebration after needing to shelter
even from the sun
as antibiotics worked within me.
My friend texted
How’s your breathing?
I replied,
I am ok. Are you ok?
Yes, he said, I was reading about how
sick people feel like they are drowning
and I panicked.
I could soothe this fear
in this moment.
I am not drowning, I respond.
I am ok.
I am in the sun.
Melissa Fritchle lives in beautiful Santa Cruz, California where she can visit the mountains and the ocean. She is a Holistic Psychotherapist, Mindfulness Teacher, and author of The Conscious Sexual Self Workbook. Mindful dance, meditation, and writing are a part of every day.