We asked our community to portray life in quarantine. The response was overwhelming; maybe we are all craving a creative outlet right now? There were so many interesting and appealing submissions that we decided to turn it into a series. Here is the first part of our Life in Quarantine Series.
Here you can read Melanie Friedman‘s poetry journal The Big Grief, accompanied by images by Julie Hrnčířová, Marcia Pitch, germana STELLA sebastianelli, Thiago Matos, Chiara Bruni, portraying portraying life in quarantine.
The Big Grief
[March 15, 2020]
I
i spit 3 times:
contagio
constagiosus
contagion
i spit from feet away
Images by Marcia Pitch
[March 16, 2020]
I
video chats in quarantine:
maybe we will meet
click
or maybe not
II
bok choy held tenderly,
taking in the luxury of fresh choices
“it’s not that kind of shop,” he says
(he’s headed to the cans)
i savour it
These Half Full Shelves
This Calm Veneer
panic leaves our mouths a joke
something like a movie,
the world seems to big and too close
i hold my breath to get the mail
Images by germana STELLA sebastianelli
[March 21, 2020]
I
COVID is like a big grief
everybody comes to it in time
similar stages
gentle depression
i sleep too late and think too much
II
when families scatter
we finds out things that permanent
of art, of trade, “you should be proud”
of love, of worth, of medicine
what will they say one day
when i’m gone and waters had its fill
Image by Julie Hrnčířová
Image by Thiago Matos
[March 23, 2020]
I
so many things to fill a day;
partner works,
cat naps,
mother calls but now and then
shifts
a movement back to it
slow and sometimes sudden
i fail to keep a schedule
II
my love,
early on i knew, you
caught up in your time
already declared
gave me your ring, steady
hands and eyes and lips
my strength grew out of blackberries
while you
your kindness leaves a mark
a mark that mars me
makes me unusable
a lock with just one key
