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Coronavirus Nightmare

Yesterday I curled weights with my brother on the front porch of our parent’s house
He was chewing nicotine gum and drinking whiskey from a paper bottle of coconut water
His closed eyes savored a drag from his vaporizer
White puffs of marijuana steam escaped his nostrils
Then he said
I’m going to get more whiskey
And went back into the house

I put down the weights and looked at green buds on Virginia trees
The sun warmed my shirtless skin as I filled my lungs from the bottom
I wondered how many good breaths I had left
I wondered how many belly laughs we’d share
How many kisses with my lover
I wondered who I’d never see again
And how many prayers stood between me and God

My lungs filled
Like a drowning man’s
As midday spring
Slipped away