Tenacity

    

mixed-media and personification

     Tenacity taps you on the shoulder just as you are about to tack an eviction notice for Hope on one of the four chambers of your heart. “You don’t want to do that,” he says as he unpacks the tools of his trade: rope, life preserver, file box of over-used clichés, some energy bars, and a book of matches from the Try, Try, and Try Again Café. He tells you to take a shower because you smell and everything looks better without disappointment stinging your eyes. As you wash the weariness from your hair, Tenacity makes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch.
     After a nap, Tenacity sits with you while you wait for that phone call. He sorts the month-high stack of mail from your bedside table into little piles. He pays a few bills and files the rejection letter under R. He burns through pages from a box marked “Heavy” until the swirling brown-edged scraps and ash form sparrows and fly away. He feeds the cat and gives her fresh water. Upon noticing that you’re out of aluminum foil, paper towels, and paperclips, he sighs, and makes a quick trip to the store. He instructs you to keep writing in his absence, even though you think the words are all wrong.
     Upon his return, Tenacity makes you count out the accomplishments that you’ve shoved under the bed. He helps you stick them together with toothpicks until they reach the ceiling. The exercises come next. First up is a five minute set of Body Raises; ten 30-second repetitions of getting out of bed when the alarm rings. This is followed by a series of deep cleansing breaths. Head Lifts ensue; starting with your head on the keyboard, raise it up as much as possible in a minute’s time. Use a gentle motion, do not bang.
     The last exercise is called Stepping Outside. Tenacity reminds you that while you may feel like you’re walking onto a dilapidated wooden drawbridge over shark-infested waters; it’s just a porch. “You’ve done this before, you can do it again,” he says, adding, “The Journey is the Reward.” You kind-of want to slap him, but you find yourself distracted by a ruby-throated hummingbird. It’s hovering beside a yellow cactus flower. The sky is blue, sponged white with cumulus clouds. It’s right there, all around you.