I look up at the sky every day
To see what color it is
It seems so important
As important as the bread on my table
And the water I drink so much of now
As though by living through this
I have dried out
Yet while I gaze upwards
I am rooted in the ground
Planted like a tuber
A bulb
Waiting for spring
Waiting for the moment I can pop my head out
And say
Hello?
I’m here
I’m back
(In color)
But not yet
The ground is heavy and wet
A dark sponge of moss and mud
Hydrating
(Like me)
And so I endure
And I look up at the sky
And see what color it is
There are astronauts up there
Untethered
Floating in space
And there’s a rover on Mars
Called Perserverence
A timely name
Reminding us to hold on
(Unlike those astronauts)
We are sent photos
Of the surface
A dusty arid desert
A place I recognize
But don’t know why
And I stare at them
When I am at home
Drinking more water
Eating bread
And feeling my roots grow deeper
And deeper in the soil
So that I can barely move
Stop
Breathe
It’s okay
It will be okay
There is life here
Above us and below us
And if I just turn my face upwards
Towards the sky
I can sometimes remember it