Our Ground Time Here Will Be Brief, by Jeanie Tomanek, from
Artists and Poets Respond to the Pandemic, an online exhibition.
In these hazy days, I’m feeling the fatigue of feeling.
Empaths call it absorption, when the mind is a sponge taking in every drop. And it’s mental too, this sifting and sorting of every new thing done, said, reported, refuted. More than ever, we need retreat. The best mental and emotional rest, I’m finding, is reading.
Under the influence of words that feed, fuel and nurture, I feel fine. Feel good doesn’t mean “comfort read” or “easy read” but more of a feed-the-mind read. Here, a few of my latest favorites:
1.
I’ve learned to value failed conversations, missed connections, confusions. What remains is what’s unsaid, what’s underneath. Understanding on another level of being.
— Anna Kamienska
A Nest of Quet: A Notebook
2.
That such a bright and layered woman had fallen for Emerson — a mediocrity in search of an admiration society — was a cosmic vote for pessimism.
— Tom Rachman
The Rise & Fall of Great Powers: A Novel
3.
Between isolation and harmony, there is not always a vast distance. Sometimes it is a distance that can be traversed in a moment, by choosing to focus on the essence of what is occurring, rather than on its exterior: its difficulty or beauty, its demands or joy, peace or grief, passion or humor. This is not a matter of courage or discipline or will; it is a receptive condition.
— Andre Dubus
Making Sandwiches for My Daughters
God is Love: Essays from Portland Magazine
4.
One-Star Yelp Reviews of Heaven (an excerpt)
Not sure about all the positive reviews on here.
I’ve been here twice now and it was awful both times.
Over-excite, tepidly deliver. The results are un-inspired
because of a fairly bland approach.
— Shawnte Orion
Gravity & Spectacle, a photo-poem collaboration
by Jia Oak Baker and Shawnte Orion
5.
Social Safety Net (an excerpt)
I work in a nursing home
I get gloves, a mask I wear
all day. No gown.
My wife and family . . . We are
scared.
About almost everything.
— Maureen E. Doallas
Artists and Poets Respond to the Pandemic
an online exhibition featuring 22 artists and 18 poets
And you, what’s feeding your mind?