The lightning bugs are gone. They’ve been replaced by the cicadas — blaring their calls of chicka-chicka, chicka-chicka, zaazz, zaazz. There are legions of cicadas, I suspect, hiding in the evergreens that overlook our backyard and in old oaks that line our neighborhood, aptly named Forest Glen. Some other writer might romanticize their singing, butContinue reading “How to survive a pandemic without losing it”
Catching light
On nights when our son drifts asleep easily, I practice yoga in the livng room. I’d just rolled out my mat across the shadowed carpet one evening when a yellow burst drew my gaze. Flash-flash.
Momentum
Sunlight warmed her shoulders, and she felt something fluttering inside her, too. What was it, peace? Or maybe anticipation? She’d nearly forgotten the feeling.
Work, worth and paying attention in the time of coronavirus
Why can’t I focus? I write this in my pandemic journal, because I read journaling is a gift during this time and because “you’ll want to tell your grandkids about the 2020 pandemic” and because I already keep a journal. Focus? The situation at hand requires me to “work” from home with my preschooler underfoot.Continue reading “Work, worth and paying attention in the time of coronavirus”
Something of value
“There’s no treasure here,” my son said, shaking his head while we strolled city sidewalks…
What flowers know
It snowed last Wednesday. Big wet clumps floated down, blanketing our hellebores, their full fuchsia faces turned up to the clouds as if to say, “Go ahead, test us.” “Has it always snowed this much in April?” I asked Jay, glancing out the window, not waiting for an answer. “Seems like it’s snowing more thanContinue reading “What flowers know”
(breathe deep) find hope
inhale, rise. exhale fold. / stretch float flow / repeat
Saving daylight — with him
Whenever I replay it in my mind, the scene starts here: Me at the rear car door, hovering. Him with his head craned back, stalling.
Contagion
Your hands are raw from multiple washings. In the span of three days, your inbox was flooded with warnings: “School Health Update”; “Office Closure”; “Parenting in the time of Coronavirus”; “Coronavirus in preschoolers: Symptoms and what you need to know.” This is the one that scared you: “Coronavirus updates: More lockdowns are starting.” The St.Continue reading “Contagion”
A brief history of kisses
Stolen outside Still Middle School after the eighth grade dance, in the dark. His lips were laced with Dr. Pepper. His body held a trace of Old Spice mixed with sweat.
Erin Strybis 