Breathless in the Time of Quarantine

Kate Koenig

My lungs bloom infectious
Asthmatic gasps for air and air
and air—

Please.

I need a pause.
A reprieve from this cycle
of pleading to live.

Each lungful costs me
a copay I have no choice
but to cough up.

My chest winds,
ticking until the cash register rings
a ransom without insurance

How much do I value,
my delicate, defective lungs?
Twin mothwings of dust

about the writer

Kate Koenig (she/her) is a queer writer and photographer living in Houston, TX. She is a recent MFA graduate of Creative Writing from The New School. She earned her BA in English and History at the University of Pittsburgh. Her work has either appeared or is forthcoming in Sunspot Literary Journal, Barren Magazine, You Might Need To Hear This, and elsewhere. She is currently querying her YA manuscript, Stigmata. Find her on Twitter here: twitter.com/KateK_Writing.