My distance and loneliness
In a poisoned world
My amusements and study
Grow vapid and I wonder
What to do in all this
In my state of shock, my enervated will
I can’t bring myself to do anything
Struggle with the clock that doesn’t seem to move time
Distancing, social isolation, and loneliness
How strange commercials from the old days seem
Tight social groups at cafes, parties, mobs at pop concerts
And New York city streets like a ghost-town
I try to wrap my mind around it all
What it all means, what it will mean
The economy, unemployment, isolation
How long? What it all means
Shops shut down, restaurants, businesses
And all those workers unemployed now
The number of incidents rises, the death toll
They say weeks, probably months of this
Then we will emerge—but to what?
The scar COVID-19 will leave on the world we used to know
For now, the greatest love means isolation
David Fekete 