I thought things might go south
but they didn’t
and I wouldn’t have been prepared
if they had gone another way
To stay inside each day
I would hate not being able to see you
An unplanned reunion already fallen through
I’m finding it hard to make sense of
what comes next
to see it clearly
Today feels like yesterday
the rest are the same
there is no use in counting
We’ve had nothing but time to digest it
We cover our mouths and our noses
for our neighbours
It’s been hard to separate
what’s going on here
from the mess that he’s made
I haven’t gone this long
without a hug from my mom
I’m forgetting where her brown freckles have shied away
I ache for the dry heat that we knew so well
offering no mercy
except a kiss of cool in the morning
and at night
There’s guilt that hangs heavy
whenever I have a spare moment
to think of home
there is Florence all alone
No one calling on the phone
no visiting
no baseball
no shopping for a bra
She’s seen it all crumble over and over
Close to a century she’s lived
without giving up
How’s she liking her confinement
I wonder
She’s got too much time to sit and wait
for nothing
My body longs for discomfort
An early morning to escape the city and go beyond
The sound of bustle
Spaces overcrowded with bodies touching
Now we can’t bear to look at
We’ve saved our holiday
for the holidays that won’t go ahead
I think of the cities and the friends
that I’ve left behind
that used to be mine
now so far away
for so long
