Instructions for Our Survival
April 6, 2020
Step 1: Take as many steps backward
as forward, then take a seat.
Move your gluteus maximus, one side at
a time, while sitting, over and
over again, and then again.
You put your right foot in, you put your
left foot in, and you twirled it back inside,
and that’s what you’re suppose to do.
Eat, sleep, play, repeat. Become the cat
of your dreams; cough, cough It’s only a hair all, phew.
Yesterday, I wore an N95 mask and clear plastic gloves
to Trader Joe’s and waited in line for 30 minutes
in the cold and pouring rain. I got drenched!
Yesterday,I wore a red bandana to the store.
I swear I’m not the Lone Ranger!
Two rubber bands plus a bandana
equals a lopsided face mask.
Gloves, masks and Lysol, oh my!
Close your eyes and open your
mind, now open your eyes.
Put your right hand in; put your
right hand out, then shake it…
Look up, look down, look
all around, nobody there.
Breathe your own breath
until you can’t taste it anymore.
Do not jump deeply into the canyons
of your mind; float on
with a balloon bouquet of
peacock feathers, smiling, smiling.
by Stevie Taken, Natalie Champion, Gudelia Vaden, Barbara Berg, Burcu Misirli Chatham, Frances Vasquez, Joseph Milazzo, Dar Stone, Robin Longfield, Nan Friedley, Magdalena Nunez, Cati Porter
Original prompt: Write one line for a “how to” poem, instructions for our survival during quarantine. But try not to list the obvious. Let’s let it get wacky and surreal.
Inlandia: A Literary Journey 