Social Isolation: Day 35
Today it snowed, the wind
cut through, and then the sun,
then snow. I didn’t pass
one person on my walk.
What fresh hell is this?
I think was Dorothy Parker,
not in response to isolation,
but to the doorbell or the phone.
Today we learned
we will be further isolated,
sealed off from fellow humans,
borders closed.
Some Dorothy Parkers in our land
may think “At last.”
I used to be more like her
than, say, the kindly Mr. Rogers.
But today if you came calling,
I would answer “Enter neighbor,”
maybe muffled by my mask
and while I sprayed you down.
Still, the sight of you
after these cold weeks,
would be most welcome
and, once the Lysol fumes
had dissipated, my first
breath of spring.
S. Robbins, April 21, 2020