Written by Anonymous
sonnet in a pandemic 3/13/20
does
this
[everything ending]
change
anything
between
us?
(are you scared, my dear?
we could
hold hands)
in the black
-out, adjust together
to our new conditions
(i miss you, i miss you).
(instead we
practice good
“social distancing”:
isolate inside our
individual homes,
wash our hands,
etc.)
why should i
venture
(that you’re gone)
if my house is safe
and clean? if
health is
what this means?
(i try alternative touching:
hugging my torso.
i try hugging my pillow.)
(i try not to
touch)
my face
&
i
don’t
come out
for anything
i don’t
absolutely
require.
you would hate this 4/4/20
see, there’s this virus
i don’t know if i’ve mentioned it
makes
everything
harder
what i do accomplish
i pay for in “dead brain”
staring, scrolling, moaning
what’s next
is the fear
is there
anyone out there
who just, idk, *feels*
???
i think
of *you*
then i imagine
you could do for me
what i can’t do for myself
then, when you don’t
i get
so sad
4/8/20
i baked a whole batch of cookies for myself and when they came out of the oven, ugly, i almost threw them all away. instead, i wrapped them up, tried to sleep. it’s 5:45am and i’m tasting the cookies now. they’re good. i’m glad i kept them. and you did text me.
what kind of drama is this.
4/8/20
sooOoo i'm beginning my day at 4:40pm in a position of being thankful
you want to love this tree 4/9/20
we lift our masks
but you can’t see my face
you’re standing in my front lawn
approximately 6 ft away from me
and the light is blowing out
from my warm house
hiding me
but lighting you
and i am in love with you
4/11/20
on the other side of this curtain is you
fresh...strange...better than i remember
4/18/20
they’re just words, no caress…the sound of the bowl breaking, like the dog sniffing, really concerned me because i thought i was alone.
1 day 4/24/20
when your icon comes on
(instagram), “active now,”
i say, “good morning,”
like we used to.
and throughout the day,
i log on to check when last you used
this same site as me, look for another
“active now,” but settle for an
“active 5 minutes ago
...17 minutes ago.”
after an hour,
you feel far. funny,
you have never been far, really.
our distance is as virtual as
our relationship is. you’re over there
on [l] avenue, and we’ll
never touch, because you’ll never be
here on [g] street; i am.