I feel stupid; you’re contagious. I walked
into your epidemic, expectations
befuddled dancing drunk through all those
isolation wards maskless fey and anile
your lilac-scented antimicrobial
smells faintly of vinegar – warn all the fruitflies
what happened all those months in isolation?
it seemed so short a time taking forever

now the freedom feels like abandoned faith
leaving us rudderless upon the vast
shining sea as we dehydrated stare
full at the moon in questioning wonder
how did such a tiny device drive all
reason and proportion from our world?

dmpitchford 12/10/23