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Not Drowing

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.

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