From Melanie to Joann:

today was an act of love, my dear
feeling caught in my own dark
well of sorrow, angry, processing
I carried myself to this little zoom
and asked myself to focus on

something tiny and beautiful
just for these moments, this one
how about now,
each moment wanting to run,
calming, calming

fuck the practice
I can't keep my eyes closed
I don't want to sit, to notice, to scan
resistance, resistance
staying, staying

because I love you
and in the midst of real hate
I see love is real too
thank you, thank you
thank god for real things

From Joann in reply:

Today
You chose love
Stepped out of one “reality”
If you could call it that
Into another
Another of your choice
Discerning
Your choice
Discerning
Fuck the practice?
Fuck the notions of
Practice
This is the practice
Choosing your relationship
With the now
Now, you don’t get a choice
Relating to now
You put a ring on the finger pointing to the moon
And you marry her
The practice, not the moon