SWALLOWED BY COVID ISOLATION

I sat in the pit of my own being

like the trapped wolf gnawing at its foot

or a jarred firefly touching silently against the lid

or a button forcing its way through a small, garment hole.

 

Then I raged against politicians

and gamblers who shopped without masks devaluing my life—

charlatans as homicidal as an armed thief

and as merciless as a mass shooter.  People were dying.

 

I moved through the grief for my country,

emotionally spent, to the altar of acceptance,

powerless until the next election to do more than observe,

wear my mask and gloves, and simply exist in timelessness.

 

I want to believe humanity will learn from this nefarious virus—

the invader of our dreams, the wall between us and the world,

intellectual divider and destroyer of tolerance,

the slayer of grandparents, health workers, moms, dads and children.

 

After we have buried the dead.  After we can earn a living.

After.  After.  After.  Will we embrace the migrant picking our food?

Will we support educators, custodians and bus drivers?

Will we find one America?  Will we be better humans?  After…..