Breath in, breath out.
On the Adirondack bench beneath the kiwi arbor
late afternoon sun beneath bluest of sky,
stilling my mind, emptying thoughts:
focus on the cool air traversing nostrils, filling belly
sending calming goodness throughout my body.
Just breathe. Just be. Here in this moment.

But the words I didn’t know I’d have to know
coronavirus       social distancing      shelter in place
come unbidden, bringing a worm of anxiety
hitching my breath, derailing my bliss with
an endless loop of troubling questions I can’t answer
(and maybe don’t want to find out the answers).

Breathe in! Breathe out! Come back to the moment!
So .  .  .  this rich soil and awakened kiwi vine,
this cluster of daffodils which wondrously appears each spring
this ant struggling to drag his bounty home,
the quiet street in front of me in my quirky little neighborhood,
with a peak of the bay and forested hills beyond.
There is no place better than this one moment right now.

Keep breathing.