Treatment Plan

Shallow breaths in my chest pulse like a hummingbird’s wings 

So I decide

I am going to walk the same route every morning without my phone 

I am going to watch the big brown dog jumping up the tree trying to catch the squirrel 

I am going to notice the neighbors that left their Christmas decorations up for months

I am going to remember the cat purring on my chest and the way my little gold earrings camouflage into the little gold bowl on the nightstand

I am going to wonder if CBD peach rings actually do anything or if I just want an excuse to eat candy

I am going to say hi to that acquaintance I barely know because we made eye contact before I could avoid them

I am going to draw directly on a canvas with oil pastels and realize they really do smudge

I am going to take a sexy mirror pic using the pile of shattered glass on the street 

I am going to explain to a couple in their forties that orange wine isn’t actually made from oranges

I am going to drink a piña colada out of a ziploc bag by the seaside

I am going to transcend, I know it

I am going to remember I am loved now

I am going to drink a sugar free Red Bull and feel my heart beating out of my chest

Jade Wootton is a writer living in Ridgewood, New York via her hometown Los Angeles, California. She is an M.A. candidate in the department of English & American Literature at New York University, where her research focuses on theories of projected selfhood in contemporary autofiction, reality television, and social media. Her work appears in Electric Literature, Pan Pan Press, Bad Pony Mag, Heavy Feather Review, and several collaborative zines, including Playedboy and Que Será. She has read her work in community-oriented spaces such as Molasses Books, Chispa Bar & Cafe and Cafe Erzulie. You can find more of her work on her Substack.