Outside

There is always something awry

or in place outside the window.

People go to market every day

in city, town, hamlet, but ten

of us near the university

in Boulder did not come home

again. That was yesterday

or the day before. I don’t

remember exactly when

I turned on news to get

the five things I must know

to share with mother, son,

daughter, and yes to assess

what to do with investments.

Decisions and revisions

of the individual in a safe

house, who has not ventured

out. I remain masked, distant,

thinking now of ordering

groceries delivered, Uber Eats.

A terrible compromise, defeat.

Yet I must not let fear become

engine, bloodstream, life. Step

through the door. Walk outside.

 March 24, 2021