Second Dose!

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Got my 2d vaccine dose today. Side effects are a little like last time: arm pain, achy feeling, occasional chill, and a few others that come and go. All in all, I’m happy to finally have the vaccination process behind me.

Overall, the process isn’t better or worse than other vaccinations I had in the past. It’s better than a flu shot. Its side effects might make me feel icky for a while, but it’s better than getting the underlying disease.

More than that, I finally got to look at my mask as a soon-to-be optional thing for me. I won’t have to worry about potentially catching an illness and spreading it to loved ones. That’s a big deal. It’s peace of mind that didn’t cost me anything and was minimally invasive.

I know there are people out there who aren’t sold on the vaccination process. The reasons to get one or not get one have all been rehashed severely over the past several months. I don’t know why others have made their choice to get one or not. However, I can say why I got mine.

The people I care about are worth more than two needles in my arm.

Underwater

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Pike’s hand reaches an inch below the surface of the water, extending as far as it will go. Bubbles waft past his eyes, precious breath fleeing from his lungs. The hand won’t help him ascend. The breath won’t come back to his lungs.

His mind’s lost track of time, but he’s been under the water for four minutes now.

Ripples sway and distort images from the world above the water’s surface. There’s maybe a blue sky, puffy clouds: the perfect sunny day. It changes on him in an instant. Nothing stays the same, a hint of something beautiful that won’t stand still long enough to grasp it. A world of safety exists close enough to almost touch, far away enough not to matter.

Pike isn’t sure if it’s the water bearing down on him, or the world. He should be buoyant, moving upward to draw a luxurious breath. His position does not change. Below, in the murky depths, he cannot see anything hold him back. Somehow, he lingers in a position of life inching towards death.

Above the water, Pike sees the sun-kissed world ripple and change. Faces appear over an invisible edge. They all look at him with smiles that can only come from loving hearts and affectionate minds. There are too many for Pike to count, but he knows them all. Surely they must see him. All they need to do is reach down below the water and bring Pike the rest of the way.

Despite the changes of the light reflecting into the water, Pike does not see the change he longs for most of all. No hands reach out to him, no offers of salvation. The only hand in Pike’s world does not reach far enough.

As the light fades, Pike’s hand withdraws, and he accepts that which is within his grasp.

Sonnet 4

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Life is a wine made and purchased dearly
By sweet tears of joy and salt tears of pain.
The saccharine's taste mingles to nearly
Match that which the briny has tried to stain.

Sorrow, the familiar, despised friend
Comes to greet all who feel life's soft quaking.
Its offer: add bitter taste that will bend
Any spirit from burdened to breaking.

But here arrives a beloved stranger,
Unmet here until now, but not unknown.
One whose heart sings to allay all danger,
Turning sour fruit to the sweetest grown.

Life's a vintage not judged by bitter tears,
But prized for small sweetness throughout the years.

Author’s Note: Here’s another sonnet. I got in the mood last week to write a proper one in the Shakespearean style. It’s a little clumsy in places, I think, but overall not bad for a night’s effort.