Behind the Mask

I would love to go back to days that have passed                       

before days of voices muffled behind cotton masks.

Back when folks knew if it was the current day or the last,

when days on the calendar didn’t pass so fast.

Times when greeting a friend wasn’t a task.

I remember when going to the beach was a treat.

There were no signs “Keep back at least six feet.”

I recall a day when I could go to my favorite spot to eat

Now I have to pick up my food on the street.

Will we ever go back to hugging each other

and kisses on the cheek?

I have no way of knowing, but it looks pretty bleak.

And what about all this self- isolation?

Will at least one of my kids walk at their graduation?

know what it is like to hang with their peers,

Instead of living every day with bottled-up fear,

Not knowing if this person or that is infected,

wondering whose symptoms went undetected.

The whole world is in a strict quarantine.

I have to think there must be a grander scheme

2020 has played out like a horror movie scene.

The whole world threatened by COVID-19.