pandemic
__________________
self-isolation is the downbeat of my natural rhythm
after diving headlong into interaction on the upbeat
I must eventually take my leave, overstimulated
like a toddler in need of a nap
retreat to my home and familiar sensory surroundings
to cleanse myself of the world’s static
now, hugs, touch, proximity, un-masked laughter
subtly shifting expressions like changing skies
of friends’ faces, all carefree, spontaneous
human contact has been stripped from public life
the formerly lush landscape laid bare, greenery uprooted
by a viral defoliant, leaving walls of cloth, distance
and a sea of eyes – pleading, vacant, confused
samaritan
__________________
driving home the other day, I saw an elderly woman
struggling to push and drag a pair of wheeled carts
loaded with bags and parcels along the sidewalk
she stumbled and I wanted to turn around,
to help her load her things
into my car and take her home
but that would’ve meant
sharing close quarters with a stranger
so I kept driving, praying for her
and for forgiveness, wondering if
she would have stopped for me
quarantine
__________________
when my heart starts emitting
little pleading helpless sounds
I take it aside and we review
how to operate the blowtorch
of self-determination
the illusion of confinement
melts like fragile wire
made of wax, liquefying
dripping off my reality, leaving
me utterly free and completely
responsible for my liberation
whatever isolation I suffer
is my choice
if I can’t hug you today
I can call you and we can talk
leisurely and deeply and that
can be worth as much
and if I’m to endure restrictions
on my movements or the particularly
intimate imposition of wearing
a mask in public
I can choose to understand the science,
to consciously accept the rational path,
to know it’s the means to an end, and
to cooperate without resentment
toward any source of inconvenience
other than a virus intent on survival
via human refusal to recognize
its power to lay us low
no, I learned long ago to transcend
cages, stroll forth, sing out and celebrate
my terrifying and expansive freedom
late for a Zoom meeting
__________________
sorry I was late
not as in a late model car
deceased or pregnant
just late, as in Zooming
nowhere fast, entering
the wrong link and credentials
running down unfamiliar
cyber-hallways, peering through
windowed doors at
empty screens
until I found the key
right where I left it
on the floor of my brain
hay, que pendeja
