musings

a stink bug perches on the bristles of my toothbrush. i know more about ventilators than i should. this morning's coffee tastes luxuriously of earth. as i run through the forest, pileated woodpeckers hammer and cackle from above. nearly every surface in this house is covered in dust. some things never give up. i've got an ache in the ball of my foot. on the underside of smellie's ear there's a mat that feels exactly like felt. it's astounding what some people call leadership. one tablespoon of butter has as much saturated fat as half a cup of vanilla ice cream or a large bag of potato chips. the campus is silent. students' bicycles rest on flat tires. matching cuts on my middle fingers throb, but only when i focus on them. the full moon works its gravity on seizures. charlotte, a little girl a lot like calvin whom i never met but loved just died from probable complications of the coronavirus. her mother was my mentor and is my hero. the morning sun shines in sideways, its light refracting through glass like opals or rain or the way trees blur through windows of a speeding car. my wedding ring clinks like a wind chime against my mug. steel cut oats get stuck in my teeth. the chair i write from groans and squeaks. pride gets in the way of apology. i imagine the hand that painted each brushstroke of face and landscape. reflections are everywhere and everything.

Photo by Michael Kolster