Nowhere To Hide
A Pandemic Poem
I slow, so you can pass by
but you slow because you want something
Human contact, a nodding glance
a head nod, some affirmation
that we are on the same plane
but honestly, I don’t see you
All I see is potential disease
and will gladly sacrifice
six to one thousand feet
of space between us
if it just gives me
some place to hide
I walk my dog because I need to
and he doesn't understand
the fate the world is in right now
He thinks we are hypochondriacs
and as much as that sounds crazy,
since he is a dog
and there is mutiny on this ship,
he doesn’t think that differently than you
because you want to pet him
with your ungloved hands
slowly transmitting the particles
of every person you’ve been in contact with
to the brushed fur on my dog’s back
and he only sees this as affection,
but to me,
it’s an act of aggression
