Together Apart
In and out of the same
four rooms
Blossoms outside the
window
A view rarely noticed
until
It becomes the new office
Faces in a grid staring back
at me
My connection to the outside
Where the heart still
beats
The world turns round
And Mother Nature soothes
With swaying trees against
the sunrise
And bird choruses
heralding springtime
Runners break free of
their confines
Soaring down paths and
avenues
Silhouettes of the
restless moving up and down steps
In the empty stadium of a
school devoid of life
Where bells have gone
silent and hallways empty
Bearing no jubilant banners
of prom or graduation
Outside the heart still
beats
The world turns round
And Mother Nature soothes
With her fresh, fragrant
breezes
And rainbow-filled skies
after the rain
Shoppers hurry by with
averted glances
Fearful eyes peering above
meager masks
The store darkened by
underlying tension
And the unspoken how long? HOW LONG?
Clutching precious rations
they rush out the door
Where the heart still
beats
The world turns round
And Mother Nature soothes
With her technicolor
blooms
Warm sun on glittering
rivers
Screens feed continual
streams of data
Numbers, graphs, trajectories,
and photos
Probabilities,
possibilities…and no certainties
As a giant question mark
hovers over an unwritten future
Screens also offer
distraction, compassion, connection
Faces of loved ones smiling
and yearning to be near
While our hearts still
beat
The world turns round
And Mother Nature soothes
With a spirit of unwavering
courage
And the will to live on
