This is really not a good time for this virus to show up. Not when I’m 68 years old. Couldn’t it have arrived ten years ago before I became elderly?
I can make myself ten years younger. (Maybe twelve or fifteen. Why stop at ten?) My mother did that during the war. After she said we were safe. They couldn’t get to us because of the ocean.
Now six feet apart no ocean protects us. Too bad we didn’t learn to breathe underwater.
I watch television wonder why people are standing so close to each other. I walk in zigzags. My ponytail pulls at the strings of the mask suffocating me.
At night I check the doors. But who will sneak in now? The virus is the only one out and about.
How old will my grandchildren be when I hold them again? Will the youngest be surprised to see we have bodies attached to our heads that we don’t live on a screen where we touch the glass with our lips?
Sometimes it is all too much. We must risk it.
We order take-out. The smell the taste my god the very sight of the dumplings
one bite and I remember
when our whole family crowded around the dining room table plates bring plates we don’t need silverware maybe a few serving spoons in the drawer where they always are wait a minute here are the chopsticks we asked for twelve and they sent nine the babies don’t need chopsticks but one pair is missing watch that soy sauce why is it impossible to finish a sentence don’t stand on the chair no shows while we’re eating after you can watch your show after how was your week who wants the last dumpling brownies or ice cream or both whipped cream no more whipped cream we ran out first finish your food can we please let the adults have a conversation for two minutes just two minutes okay all you kids go watch TV wait wash your hands not the babies the babies stay here wash your hands those hands are not clean why because we said so you’re still hungry then sit down on the chair yes the chair
Who knows when
We will have this again.
— Paulette K. Fire
Music by Noah Fire
PHOTO CREDITS
Unsplash.com Cheng Feng, Colin D, Edwin Hooper, Markus Spiske, Amelie & Niklas Ohlrogge, Forest Simon, Jon Tyson, Timo Hartikainen, Belinda Fewings, Tim Mossholder, YUCAR FotoGrafik, Nick Fewings, Gabriel Tovar, Engin Akyurt, I Do Nothing But Love, Kelly Sikkema, stem.T4L, Igor Starkov, Marissa Price, Russell Sutherland
Pixabay.com StockSnap, congerdesign
Pexels.com Madison Inouye, August de Richelieu, Lee Hnetinka, by RODNAE Productions, Tima Miroshnichenko, Askar Abayev
