Now, however many weeks into quarantine….I could count, but really, time has taken on its own slow beat and I have no desire to tick off the weeks on the calendar….now I come to the end of the prompts that the water underground and I generated back in the early days of shelter in place / stay home stay safe. My almost-3-year-old, Blue Jay, says, “Long time ago, we used to go inside people’s houses. “Long time ago, when I was a baby, we used to be able to hug people and hold their hand.” The bright green tendrils of a cold and rainy march have swelled and deepended Strawberries have a blush of red in the front yard and the lilacs that were bare sticks are now covered in rotting flowers and arch down to make a secret jungle room for semi-private phone calls. The chicks have grown into cluckers and one crower. Summer might demand more prompts, more queer thought, more image and gesture in lieu of touch. Please do reach out if you have ideas for prompts, projects, or other ways to keep one another close.
Prompt # 12 Who are your queer elders, mentors, and loved ones at extra risk from covid 19. Have you been wanting to record a story from them? Give them a call and ask for a story. Post the questions that you asked that got them talking. (Thanks Celeste Chan, and check out www.QueerAncestorsProject.org)
Prompt # 13 Have a dance party at a park and invite friends to join you virtually or at a distance. Or, make a backdrop of your favorite place to go outside and have a virtual dance party with at least one other person. Or, hMake sounds of birds or animals you might find there. (Thanks to Zeph Fishlyn and the Emergency Dance Party Network!)
Prompt #14 Remember a great walk or other exploration you have made with a child in your life. Draw a picture or comic about it and send or read it to them. Plan another adventure for after you can be together again.
Prompt #15 If you can go outside, find spring leaves or flowers and make quarantine valentines out of leaf rubbings or photograms for some friends, and mail them. What do you get back?
F.R.E.S.H. Water Relations 