To NYC, with love

To my darling, my love,

I can see you healing
I can hear you breathing
There's a lightness in you
A spring in your step

The horns honk
The taxis fly by
The sun shines down
And your streets shine

I'm so happy to see you in recovery

We put you through hell
You won't look exactly the same
But you are here
Rising up again

You bring us hope
You bring us love
We fight for you
You care for us

We are so lucky

We mourn those lost
We pray for healing
We cheer for hope

We thank your doctors and nurses
They are the ones
who saved you
And the ones
Who saved us

Thank you New York,
I'll continue to love you
And I'll never leave you

You Can’t Do This

The morning after you can’t do this

It isn’t the exact words you said
But it’s how you made me feel
unworthy
unimportant
untalented
It burned, it pained, it nearly brought me to tears
I know what I am capable of
I manifest it
It will happen

You weren’t the first to make me feel

But I look back now and laugh

That moment stung

But now I laugh

You will be so wrong

I envision it

And you will just be a funny story

Pandemic Ponderings

Pandemic poetry
Not so beautiful as William
Or alliterative as Emily
Or worldly as Walt
Or illustrious as Ralph
Or moving as Maya

But still, I write

Times are strange
It all feels upside down
We are on screens for work and play and connection
We watch the news
We can read logarithmic graphs
We made a Doctor a celebrity for a good reason

We cheer at 7pm to celebrate the frontline,
Healthcare workers who are fighting to save our lives
Cheers aren't enough thanks
Heroes they are, but better treatment they deserve

We sit and stress
and pray and drink
We Zoom, we write
We dream, we think

When will this be over?
When will we be ok?
When will we see our friends?

What is life like after we've lost?
How will we honor those who are gone?
How will we rise again and be strong?