When the pandemic came
the doors of the houses
closed/ then the restaurants
closed/ the doors to the schools
closed/ the shops & salons
closed/ then the places that never close
closed/ We went home took off our real
clothes, put on pajamas & sat
close, read the news: don’t stand too
close. The space prescribed was
—6 feet—
& every gap became an opening filled
with longing, we couldn’t stop looking
(as we always had but more) My eyes,
her eyes. Walking the bike path we stopped
our breath as we passed, we wanted to
know strangers. We thought about
strangers every night. We washed our
hands & thought about bodies,
about the closeness of bodies. We started
wearing masks. We missed so many
people. At such a close distance
we couldn’t really make out what was fear &
what was desire, we kept mistaking danger for
safety, or was it sickness for love?
"Close Call" is published here with the kind permission of the author.
The ALL Review is pleased to present our How to Live series, poems chosen to help readers navigate these difficult and rapidly changing times.
