Now

Zoe Phillips
she/hers
2022

Get fit. It’s the best time for it. When else could you
Look down and think the time is now. Wait. You don’t see
now you see what could be. Think arms abs glutes thighs eyes
Spare my hands and the fine edge of my nails from the
mind’s keen teeth. That vid is not what I need I swear.
Be well they say take care. Stock up on time and fear
Two types of growth. Loss is a slow hail—it stings on.
Check the news and then the fridge. Bake it, don’t eat it.
Ease my red eyes. Where does my young day go at noon
When the sun glares in but the grim webs stay on and
I am here for the rest of my life. Rain lies far
from me. Frost sets in. What else could I mourn for, now.

Though I am also a healthcare worker, these poems speak through the patients' perspective (mine and others). The pandemic was yet another reminder that we are all just temporary guests in the land of the well; I hope to explore the uncertainty and anxiety of living with this knowledge.

Zoe Phillips lives in Brooklyn, works in Manhattan, and prefers the ferry over all other modes of transportation. She writes criticism, short fiction, and sometimes poetry.