By Jacob Cameron
Wondering all the time
What things will be like in the wake of all this.
Off to pick up bagels
Before services shut down
And heading through the snow.
I notice C.M. in a hardware store on Bank
And think of all those
Whose whole lives are put on hold
Or in jeopardy.
What do ‘the essentials’ mean
For those whose livelihoods are at stake?
I should have said something to C.,
If only that I loved his music.
Walking further
I like how people reach out with their eyes
To say hello,
Maybe even more so now,
But hate the bubbles we all
Have up around ourselves.
Whether intentional or not.
Going past Marble Slab
I pick up ice cream.
Get to the bagels
And joke along with the staff
About Morgan Freeman before puberty.
Stop in at Shoppers
Where I meet V. at the counter
As usual
And talk about getting by
And fortunate employment
And walks to campus.
Arriving back home
To a laptop that’s broken.
To a gut that is stabbing.
To a room that needs cleaning.
To a missed call.