Morose and muzzled each morning.

Saw some this morning
Shaded expressions
Shoulders slumped.
Steel toes and blue jeans.
Fatter ones wear sweat pants.
Waiting for bus.



Same schedule and dedicated passengers.
Nobody talks.
Cellphones compelling.
Thirty percent still
stifled with COVID masks.
Disinclined toward community.



Maybe later.
Not bloody likely. We’ve been had.
The great god of
Good Health told us
To be afraid.
To stay separate and alone.
To distrust many as carriers
Of this breathing endemic.


Old folks tumbling with it.
Nurses and medics collapsing
With the stress and
Sustained hours fighting
This ridiculous War.
Cashiers muzzled and having
Difficulty listening to
various fretting requests.
Through plexiglass.
Heroes on the frontline?
Nah, they just want their pay.