POETRY IN THE PANDEMIC

An old saying says that crisis is just the other side of opportunity. In the pandemic crisis we have an opportunity to throw off the “the every man for himself” framework that dominates our culture, and try “every person for each other and the community.”

The last quarter century has been tough on my truck.

Look.

I went shopping for a new one,

my bandana over my mouth.

The salesman burst from the shed and stopped.

Put off by my bandana, he asked me why I wore it.

“I’m wearing it to protect you. If you cared about me,

you’d be wearing one too.”

Scuttling back to his shed, he huffed

“Used to be you could just watch for yourself.”

I moved on to the next lot looking for a new frame

that can carry the load.