Beth A. Fleisher

Hour 13

 

Prompt:  Write a poem about a physical activity you do all the time. It could be something mundane and chore related, such as brushing your teeth or mowing the lawn, or it could be something you do for fun, or for your health, like running or swimming. The poem can be about more than that physical activity, but it must start and end with it.

 

Mental Health Walks

 

Sheltering at home

sounds so benign

until you realize

what it means.

No going out

no company coming in.

Four walls, two cats,

and cabin fever.

 

We aren’t supposed to

leave our apartment complex

so every day, twice a day,

I take a mental health walk

around our thankfully large

parking lot, which is bordered

by lovely tall fir, cedar, and pine trees,

home to many kinds of friendly wildlife.

 

Squirrels jump from branch to branch,

crows caw out their displeasure

(or pleasure, hard to tell which),

and blue jays swoop in front of me.

I’m reminded that I’m never alone

unless I choose not to see that

Creator sends unlikely friends

to visit on my mental health walks.