Corona

 

It's new, it's old. The checker, given no

Mask by the drugstore, asked if she’ll drop to

Three days—cuts at stores, not headquarters—

Says yes quick, long ago taught lesson one: less

Beats none. Now her daughter gets no Easter

Dress, so she’ll buy her some bauble. But—

Can’t make the rent? Unthinkable. And for

The unthinkable, who pays the cost, Frost

Knew: “Home is the place where, when you

Have to go there, they have to take you

In.” Grandma won’t complain, though uncle’s

Kids crowd her three rooms—now more,

Rolled up in blankets bedtime on the floor.

The food of love—soup, pasta, beans—love

Thins: the broth, the sauce—and knows its

Long division, one fries split five ways.

Lunchtime, the checker fights the urge to lift

A ramen. In line, some take care to keep

The safe six feet. But scoffers violate the space,

Raised by no gentle dad who taught affection

Mandates mutual protection. Besides, what’s due

A stranger? When the checker says, “Just one,”

Those, rich or poor, brought up to snatch, snap

Back. The rest walk weary with a small sack to

Their car, relieved they’ve passed today’s test

Of civility, since it will remind them who they

Are. Store parking lot, pre-dawn, some wait for

Toilet paper, not for them—old man for old

Woman, old woman for neighbor who can’t

Leave home: her son’s not right. School’s

Shut, forever? Eyes glazed, some kids click

“Lessons,” then click games all day. Others,

Sat down by their parents at the table, learn

They mean it: Read. Write. For love is a stern

Taskmaster. The mother who can barely read

Herself watches the day’s fear drain out from

Her daughter’s face—the girl curled up inside

Wrinkle In Time—glad there’s a shelter for

Her child she never had. Later, a newfound

Pleasure: they go walk, sun warm on neck,

Trees overhead a pink-white blur, air’s

Clarity not yet destroyed. But—the river,

Dirty—not safe for the boys to

Fish. Harder and harder to believe

In a “country” that poisons itself, where

Though you work two jobs, all doors

Stay shut. Great-Grandma kept

A photograph of Roosevelt. How had that

Felt? A stranger to him, yet he saved

Her home. Left on its own, love will

Contract to those familiar. How

Expand? Sickness, communal—but

The cure? Down at Mercy, doctors,

Nurses, janitors and aides on their

Stoic rounds all want to help, despite

The risk. But first you have to make it

Past the desk. Painkillers, cough

Syrup, whiskey, cheap brands,

The checker rings up at the drugstore

Register, shifting feet from right

To left as hours pass. Eyeing

The Easter sale display, a little girl

Picks out a crown with bunny ears.

Her mother starts to say yes, then

Says no. The girl sees the look

She often sees these days, and

Makes no fuss. The line grows

Longer, slower. The checker

Rubs her nose. Always, late

Afternoons, a silence

Falls. She hands each

Customer a coupon and

Receipt. She says,

“Stay well.” She prays

For her three days.