One day we’ll all look back

and tell the younger generations 

how fear and panic halted the tracks

of a society that barely understood the word “breathe.”

How distance became the norm

and uneasiness lay underneath 

masks that hid noses and smiles—forlorn...

shifting eyes and wide berths around strangers.

How do we survive?

When the neighbor we once loved is now seen as danger?

When beings created for touch are expected to thrive

six feet apart?

Murmured prayers amid pockets of desperation.

Do we have anything to return back to?

Photo by Wallace Chuck.