By Lydia Wylie-Kellermann

I long, I pray,
for the days when we step away from these screens
and find ourselves embodied in the great company of humans again.

I long, I pray,
for my senses to be entwined in another
in friend, in stranger, in community.
To feel and smell the breath of another in a casual hug
to taste food cooked by someone else’s loving hands
or pass a potluck dish around the circle

to feel bread crumble in my hands
as it is passed from hand to hand
to taste wine on my lips
as it is passed from lips to lips

I long, I pray,
for crowded buses
for babysitters
for bookstores
for playgrounds
for weddings

I long, I pray,
to pick up that beloved newborn in my arms
and rest my lips on their forehead,
to hold the wrinkled hand of an elder
speaking loudly in their ear so they can hear.
And to do it all
without fear that my breathing in their midst
could harm their bodies or swallow their lives.

I long, I pray
to sit at the bedside of the dying
to agonize over the annoying beeping on the wall
to sing and pray and touch them into the next world.

I long, I pray
to touch death
to hold dirt between my fingers
before we throw it into the grave.
And then to join the great chorus of loved ones
in the dance that celebrates life.

I long, I pray
to step away from the screen
and to be held in our embodied humanity
in the great company of Beloved Community.