more than the sum of its parts
thought about that trippy little phrase today
as i realized i still remember how i felt
that day
before I decided to take a walk through
that bank of daisies
last spring, away from home
when things got a little overwhelming
and the sight of hundreds of littleyellowheads bobbing at a weak spring sun
somehow made things better
hot showers, mini bottles of cold white wine ‘cause
the sevenfiftymils would just become vinegar in the ‘fridge
a little running, a lot of running, a quick endorphin high
coachbennet elizabethbennet whichever one worked for the moment
nprtinydesks and playlists on loop, an attempt to capture
a moment a love a dream a laugh
a hundred tasty videos bookmarked on the ‘tube
- some a reality, saved on the ‘gram
tea coffee tea coffee tea
and repeat
all those virtual howareyous
blurry faces on immortalized zoom screens in my may twentytwenty gallery
walking it out in downdog while yogawithadriene asks me to
see feelingly
bringing the kids home, watching them grow, pale buds becoming a richer green
with water and sunlight and love
and realizing these were moments that became
for me for us for calm for rest
more than the sum of their parts

This poem was originally published in the 'Curated by KOPI Collective' segment of the Young Feminist Network's January Newsletter run by Everystory Sri Lanka. The theme was 'Self Care.'