Monday, May 11, 2026

     I am obsessed with sheep, or maybe the idea of sheep. I haven’t really seen sheep except maybe at the local fair’s livestock pavilion.  I watch videos of sheep being herded by racing dogs, through gates across meadows.  I am reading THE SALT STONES, a memoir of a young woman becoming a shepherd in New England. Is it too late to look for sheep in Monterey County.

     I know how my friends look, their body language, clothes, mannerism, voice.  I am mostly invisible to myself.  I know my hands and feet.  I see out my eyes, maybe a glimpse of my nose but mostly I am invisible to myself. My voice resonates through my head.  I feel my body. Looking in a mirror sometimes helps.

      In the foggy cold afternoon, we watch a wonderful film on Netflix, REMARKABLE BIGHT CREATURES. The story has such a happy ending.

     We share stories of our bodies and our experiences in the medical world. We wonder why doctors ignore us when we talk about pain. The college student poet packs up and leaves by noon to return to school.