Our world has been reduced to
bedroom, bathroom,
kitchen, couch, and desk
and when we do brave beyond our gate
we do so with great caution
masking nervous stares.
***
Our constructs of time
are being
redefined—
days have lost their borders
forced to stand on their own carrying
names of lost distinction and useless numbers
when none but the first and last
can help the calendar
retain any purpose
and a clock
serves only to announce
the afternoon nap
so we task ourselves each morning
with goals to earn the day
that we may continue the
one unalterable tradition
of celebrating our daily successes and
numbing ourselves of our failures at 5:00p.m.
***
Our closets
have never been
so tidy
as the clothes that still fit
have been narrowed down
to a select half-dozen items
each one christened
with samples of
‘project paint’
and masks in all colors and styles
for our rare personal appearances
are the only new additions
as our old wardrobe
dies quietly, day by day
item by item.
***
The computer as our only social tether
and bearer of all news, good and bad, real and fake,
is now unbreakable
we have become experts in
home video conference
lighting technique, and
“What have you been doing?”
has been replaced with
“What have you been watching?”
***
All of this feels
like a strange way
forward
and going back to what was
seems impossible
from here
as we recalibrate our lives
with the lesson of valuing time
in proper measure
and practice our gratitude
for all we have been given
while surrounded by so much loss.
Ken Owen October 2020
Van Niddy Press
