Feel Piece 4

By Hannah Ensor and Laura Wetherington

In meditation my thought-labeling
has gotten more specific: raging. capital. scheming.
What is the nothingness before the storm? I have tried
to be tzim tzum. I have tried to forget the word MARTYR.
So many parts of my life are like that, like when the thought comes
and I keep it inside. I’m a deep kettle whistle. I see what you mean
about the sun being sharp. My explanation for why
is under-scientific. Laughing forms kinship. Laughing is a way
to say I hear you. Or here we are. Sitting in a room creates a room
that we carry with us. It can be big, if you like.
It can hold your friends. Some feelings are for now
and some feelings are for later. I believe we can queer each other
through listening. I keep forgetting today. Did you get my letter?
My throat closed and I put brackets around it. I can’t help but notice 
how many of my feelings are about thinking.
Credit

Copyright © 2019 by Hannah Ensor and Laura Wetherington. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on January 11, 2019, by the Academy of American Poets.

About this Poem

“We were walking around together in the summertime in a place where neither of us lived. A lot was going on, as a lot is going on now, and we wanted to respond in some way other than a think piece. This led to us sitting together in the sun and writing a series of ‘Feel Pieces’ together. This is one of them.”
Hannah Ensor and Laura Wetherington