Ian Richardson, Alison Parker, Dettra Rose, Philippa Hawley

Grasp

Posting ruddy face mask welts and lockdown haircuts
we reconnect through screens, rehearse our daily routines, and wait
for the vaccine cavalry to restitch reality.

I scroll, I tap, I ‘Read More’. Graphs, quotes, opinions, read more! 
I need to salve the agitation simmering deep.
All I find is distraction.

Pixilated Mum. Close up ear on upside-down phone. 
Tiny Mum in zoom cubicle. Disembodied voice.
One year, more, she can’t crush me in her arms.

I weep in my bunk, in my hand a tangerine
with a dusting of green where once
a stalk joined it to tree and family.

Ian Richardson has been reading books and comics for a long time. Eventually, inevitably, he began to write and gained confidence to share his work. He lives in Scotland and enjoys walking his dog and exploring local countryside with camera in hand. His micro poetry can be found on Twitter @IanRich10562022
Alison Parker is a single parent, working from home and home-schooling. She runs as much as she can, to keep herself sane. Also trying to finish an MA dissertation.
Dettra Rose is an award-winning flash fiction author in both the UK and Australia. She is working on a novel and trying hard to finish it despite her addiction to flash. A born-and-bred Londoner Dettra now lives in Australia; she calls both places home. Find her at www.dettrarose.com, twitter @dettrarose   Facebook – Dettra Rose.
Philippa Hawley is a retired doctor, now a writer. She lives in South East England with her husband in the community where she worked in practice. Philippa often thinks of her old patients, those departed, those living alone, some in care homes, separated from friends and family.

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