NaPoWriMo 24

Look at us all standing around here
in this ordinary nightly dream
involving food in public places
huddled together against the cold and dark
breathing the same unfiltered air
exchanging words through vocal cords
not pixelated catastrophe squares
wrapping our minds around
what’s become of this place
since we left it go to wrack and ruin
no one does the lawns anymore
we’re cutting our own bangs
because no appointments are available
and we’ve each become experts
at growing our own yeast in jars
for some godforsaken unknowable reason
as if the infestation at the root
of the problem suddenly became incurable
as if someone didn’t sit down at a table
with their so-called friends and said
all are welcome here in this place
including these pestering dreams of mortality
reaching for the right ingredient
at the wrong time and space
I never thought my waking horror daydreams
would ever come to pass that I would
be stuck inside with only screens for comfort
while outside unimaginable scenes unfolded
with no one to witness and adjust or drive the car
no one standing outside the window
with a screen in their hands and mask
on their face as the only goodbye
these people will ever know in this life
cut short even though it lasts so very long
so long dear friends fellow travelers so long
we’ll meet again when our bodies
are no longer made of dust or wind
just light and silence so loud it breaks through
we will embrace in the end I have to believe
these molecules can only be apart so long