A Love Language On Hold

One year ago I disembarked a plane
Not knowing that it would be the last time
For in two days the world around me changed
And since then I’ve not had the chance to fly

Reflecting on this year of amplitudes
My privilege betrayed by these highs and lows
My yearning is outweighed by gratitude
I’m blessed, though not religiously disposed

One year ago was hookah – UAE
Tomorrow I’ll fly off to ski with friends
It’s been a volatile quarantine –
I think perhaps I finally see the end

I yearn to reclaim everything I love;
I ache for reinstatement of the hug

Notes from the interview that inspired this poem:

This woman wanted her poem to be about “the highs and lows of life and the pandemic.” During the past year, her life had been radically different from what she was previously used to. In two weeks, she had gone from travelling and hugging her friends, family, and coworkers all the time to quarantining and being the primary caretaker for her elderly mother. She only personally knew a few people who had contracted COVID, and her health and wellbeing during the pandemic had been a consistent high point for her in contrast to the lows of her mother’s hip injury and the unpredictable recovery of one of her dressage horses. “I’m a hugger!” she told me. The pandemic had been tough in many ways, but now that there seemed to be light at the end of the tunnel, she was looking forward to being able to hug people again.

Interviewee: Anonymous, Psychiatrist
Listener Poet: Elle Klassen