a COVID prayer

and there’s always my dog,
warming me through the layer
of the blanket on my lap,
turning bowl-sized eyes to me
if I cough or so much as shift,
slurping me up in his vision like noodles,
reminding me I have so much to give.

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Loria Harris is a Pushcart-nominated author whose works of poetry and fiction are published in Rogue Agent, Oyster River Pages, Winged Penny Review, Club Plum, JAKE, and others. Her poems have received the Alyson Dickerman Prize and the Jim Haba Award. Loria holds an MFA from Lindenwood University, where her fiction is nominated for the MFA in Writing Award and she currently serves as an adjunct instructor. Follow her on Instagram @looksbooksandloria, on Facebook @lorialeeharris, and on Bluesky @loriaharris.