Corona

I wear my crown of martyrdom

On the front lines, yet still at the back of the testing line- haven’t been tested

I think of you, virus, though you do not think of me

Coronavirus, on the news

Coronavirus, in my body

Is the aching in my muscles and bones your calling card?

You desire to enter my cells, virus, as much as I long to keep you out

Together, yet separately, we hunger

You want to pick my lock, use my typewriter to transcribe your RNA, then mail your enveloped self-promoting propaganda air mail special to Hadestown.

Don’t bring me down on the way, I pray

Not like this, not today

My heart breaks to think of those who have lost their lives to you, and those who needlessly will still

My head is intoxicated with fear

You always seem too near

Perhaps we Americans deserve the repercussions of our recklessness

Though it is the innocent who pay, as usual

Another day deep

I march on with trembling hands and heavy feet

Tracking invisible mud out of the wards and onto the street

Ashamed to stay in the job I was fixing to quit anyway,

Ashamed to leave now and abandon my post

The war is on, dwarfing the existential crisis of living the life I want versus fulfilling my societal obligation

I am among the minority who have a medical education

Only in following my heart can I grow up at last, no longer a slave to the judgements of others who do not bear my burden

My mind’s liberation opens up like a blue sky

Back to here and now, overcast again

In clinic and in the hospital

I struggle to bring my heart into the mundane and mission-impossible tasks which overflow from one day to the next

Virus, I gaze at your storm clouds accumulating on the horizon, and feel small

I see your silver lining, as I am well practiced in finding positivity amidst disaster

You are rich in potential

Look at the way you are uniting humanity, virus

People are taking care of themselves and each other like never before

Practicing presence in hospital hallways and supermarket aisles, smiling shyly at each other from behind our suffocating masks

We are finally being mindful of our precious resources, thinking globally and acting locally for sustainable solutions

We are cultivating more community and camaraderie than we could ever quantify

Teamwork and solidarity are weaving our spirits more closely together even as the physical distance between our bodies grows

I take a step back to take in the beauty of the tapestry you wove, virus

You bring opportunity for innovation and flexibility, you demand it

Many of us no longer take life for granted

We are cleaning our hands as often as we always should have

People are being prioritized over profits as we focus on what is essential

We settle in, acknowledging at last that we are in the same boat

Living in unspoken gratitude for each day of health

Please don’t rock my boat too much, virus

Though you are armed with cunning skills

And you may bring about more positive change still

I plan to ride out this storm, though land is not in sight

Virus, perhaps you could rest tonight?

Virus, my type II pneumocytes are mine, my lungs are a celebration of life and you are not invited

I wind-down after another day on the front lines,

I give thanks to those who are doing their part in time

To those in the comfort of your own homes,

Please stay where you are, be satisfied

Coronavirus, we will destroy you with patience and ingenuity, with solidarity and community, with soap and water, and with love for one another

Zen and the Art of Driving

I tend to drive vehicles the way I live my life- reckless when I was a young sex worker (professional rape victim), and responsibly now as a woman with a career, committed to a life-partner with long-term goals.

When I was a child I felt nauseous during car rides. I vomited into faded plastic containers which always traveled with me.
As a teen I drove illegally, borrowing my classmate’s broke-down rust bucket of a car. In exchange he took much more from me.
On the brink of adulthood I got ticketed by a cop for not stopping at a stop sign ‘long enough’. I was driving because a friend asked me to take them to the corner store, and I said yes. I always say fucking yes, even when it puts my life in danger. I was rushing on the drive because I was freshly heartbroken, and wanted to hurry back to the party to be near the guy I love even now, even though I’d already lost him.
Every time I’ve gotten pulled over or in an accident, it was with other people in the car. My extreme empath tendencies left me lost in their desires- to drive faster, longer, drive when I felt exhausted or didn’t want to, ignoring my needs over their wants.
What I failed to realize was that I was the one who was driving, not my ragtag friends edging me on. Like a puppet, I felt pushed and pulled, never free to be me, always somebody else’s words coming out of my mouth. Far too many yes’s. Everyday, the struggle continues.
I am grateful for the accident, because it made me a safer driver, though I could do without the PTSD dreams of not having control on the road. Perhaps post-traumatic stress is not a disorder, but a natural reaction to trauma.
I still feel nervous around others: my social anxiety is always ready to rev its engine, and makes me a more skittish driver when I have others in the car with me, but everyday I practice presence, breathing, and empath empowerment.
I am in better control of my life now than I have ever been before, and I am a safer driver on the road.
Driving through patches of panic, I find my breath, and arrive safely home to the present.

Alchemy

I spend my evenings dissecting out the lead bullets which you pummel into my chest throughout the day

I gingerly remove the palpable parts of your reckless barrage

Do you intend to hurt me so deeply that I must perform surgery nightly just to keep my sanity?

If I ever had any sanity to lose, that is…

Wisps of breath curl coolly around my open wounds, trying to soothe the painful sting of your attack

I am humbled by how long it takes me to heal from injuries that you were so quick to inflict

Don’t tell me you Kant follow the Golden Rule

That is the universal elixir we are all hoping for

Now I know where the true treasure is

It has been mine all along, my heart of gold

I choose to share it with the world

What will you do with your golden treasure?

Please don’t keep it buried all your life

It is already within you, yours to share whenever you wish

If only I could get this message to you somehow

I’ve sent messages in bottles before

But bottles can lead to ripples

And I’m trying to calm my water

Splash

I’m learning to dodge the lead bullets of your matrix

And melt them into gold

Treating others how you want to be treated

Is a rule that never grows old