PROCESSING THE PANDEMIC - AMBERLEE

SOMEDAY

Someday

This will all seem

Far away

A balloon you clasped

Its luminous, delicate ribbon

Imprinting lines on your fragile but

Mighty hands

You carried it gently, fiercely

A protector of your spherical

Dreams and wishes expanded from

Every breath exhaled

Every inhale with the intention to

Give more

Do more

Be more

So that it might take flight above

Where you end Just a pop of color

The lines scratch against your skin

Zipping away

Helplessly floating further and further

And then

A dot in your atmosphere

Sinking heartbreak in your chest

Empty hands and out of breath

Someday

This will all seem

Far away

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ABOUT THE ARTIST

Amberlee Joers (she/her) is a theatre artist, teaching artist, and arts education organizer who has lived and worked in the Seattle area for the past 12 years and calls the Pacific Northwest home. She lives on Duwamish land with her husband and ridiculously fluffy rescue dog, Louie the Pomeranian. She loves to express gratitude and love for her community through cooking and baking a variety of delicious treats. Passionate about the intersections of anti-racism work, disability justice, and LGBTQ+ rights, Amberlee practices the mantra that "the role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible." (Toni Cade Bambara).

Poetry by Amberlee Joers. Portraits by Hilary Northcraft.