PART OF THE THIS IS THE MOMENT SERIES

November 1st, 2020

by Michelle Payette-Daoust

Entering my ninth season since my diagnosis.

The pandemic remains.

Nothing is as it once was but

nothing ever is

from one moment to the next.

I will count my time in seasons now and

try to rise above the treatment calendar

of chemo, scans and blood work—wiped

clean of coffee klatch dates and gatherings of

friends and family—many unseen over winter,

spring, summer and now fall…

We try, Simon and I, to be

good neighbors, good friends, good

family members, bringing food, serving

coffee to the builders here, baking love…

Preparing for winter, and the loss

…

of the trees,

grown quiet,

stripped bare

uninhabited

and stoic.