Rainy afternoons

fail to dampen the spirit;

same can’t be said of clothing.

~

  Gentle falling rain,

clothes dryers, and the lilting

 song of birds keep us serene.

Should weighing what is

dispensable versus who

even be put on a scale?

~

“Death panels are bad!”

“Let the virus kill the weak!”

How do these statements balance?

What have we become

when reopening we ask ,

“What’s ‘acceptable loss’?

~

Are we willing to

lose our humanity for

a monetary profit?

A taste for privilege,

though easily acquired,

takes a lifetime to escape.

~

If one develops

also a taste for service,

there is no need to escape.

We must not drift in

despair now. We must find a

way to walk each other home.

~

In this universe,

often what seems obvious,

is just a grand illusion.

~

So how do we pierce

the illusion of what seems

obvious and find what’s real?

The weather’s running

hot and cold, mirroring our

unstable genius in chief.

~

Whether he’s running

hot or cold largely depends

on the face in the mirror.