COVID 19: 4th of July 2020

This unseen menace,
the Evil One’s joy,
shatters community –
cracked like a toy.

Texting and shopping
and gathering online;
practical solitude,
passage of time.

Went to the barbecue,
broke from my cage –
mental health atrophy
threatening to rage.

People I cared not
to talk to before,
now seemed as treasures
I’d like to explore.

Saw there a friend
I’d not seen since the fall!
We dared not hug –
had to hold up a wall.

“Don’t sit too close,
let me move out my chair.”
Eyes peered out tired
o’er the masks we need wear.

“Yes, I am fine,
I just had to get home.
Thanks for the party
and calling by phone.”

Sorting out risks
and life’s purposes soon,
I’m not yet ready
to shed my cocoon.

Thus the old introvert
finds she is not.
Lonely and fragile
are really her lot.