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The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian

The power of touch

As Covid-19 restricts our physical contact, writers reflect on the most memorable touch of their life. Series compiled by V (formerly Eve Ensler) and Mahogany L Browne

17 July 2020

  • Person showering

    The power of touch: Once, in November – a poem by Anis Mojgani

    ‘Your hand to my face / thumb upon my cheek / palm cupping my jaw / touching my skin like a silk to dress yourself in’
  • Salamishah Tillet during her pregnancy

    The power of touch: I wasn't able to hold my daughter until she was three days old

    I was afraid my inability to breastfeed her or engage in skin-to-skin contact would harm her, but I was also burdened by another history
  • A barbershop

    The power of touch: Years before I came out, I found the tenderness I craved at the barber

    The jolt of clippers purring against my skull was electric. I had discovered a form of physical communion, without the danger of sex

16 July 2020

  • handprint on a windowpane

    The power of touch: Haunted – a poem by Dael Orlandersmith

  • Lisa Lucas with her father.

    The power of touch: I held my father's hand as he faded away. It was the purest exchange of love

  • Mitchell S Jackson and his son.

    The power of touch: when my son visited in lockdown, we couldn't hug. It was a reminder of the saddest truth

  • Simon Hattenstone (right) enjoying a football hug with fellow Manchester City fans.

    The power of touch: I miss football hugs. Now I long for a fetid, boozy embrace

15 July 2020

  • ‘No use asking why the knife was in my left hand then ...’

    The power of touch: Coordinates – a poem by Maria Popova

    ‘I watched the blood spill / its perfect pomegranate seeds / into the aluminium spaceship / of the kitchen sink ...’
  • Kevin Powell

    The power of touch: I was hugged for the first time at 18. It meant confronting my deepest fears

    I had grown up in brutal poverty, and saw touch as a privilege for those with less traumatic backgrounds. Then a friend and mentor changed my life

    • Welcome to the Guardian's Power of Touch series

    • The power of touch: having sex with another woman shook my brain and restarted my heart

    • The power of touch: I'm shielding with small children. Chubby thigh squeezes have saved my 2020

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