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invisible
yet possibly deadly
it empties streets
makes us quarantine
cities  regions  nations
hits us unprepared
reminds us that pandemics
can also happen in our time

a few days ago I walked downtown
a strange quietness filled the air
made me react to noises and sounds
I had not even noticed
when streets were full with people and cars

     even the wail of distant ambulance sirens
     sounded louder and more ominous

I only saw occasional joggers
a few women airing their pet dogs
more bicycled food deliveries than usual

they hardly acknowledged my existence
glances did not meet
my friendly nods were rarely returned

we have all become solitary strangers
keeping their safe distance
pandemic quietness emptiness distance strangers
the days of the week
have lost their shapes
they are now septuplets
difficult to keep apart
melting into each other

an endless loop

mornings
     afternoons
                  nights
mornings
     afternoons
                   nights …

difficult to track time
clocks run in circles
history morphs to perpetual now

only the weather changes
nature remains unimpressed
      by our problems
lockdown present history time weekdays
 Apr 2020 Erin Riley
Eloisa
Longer sleepless evenings
Humid, dark, and bleak
Serene and sorrowful homes
Blossoming sakura trees weep
With heavyhearted lonely buds
Spring, unforgettable saddest spring
Trees not lovelier and so are fields
Nor the day more delightful than the evening
These unhappy blooms in pink
Signal a different kind of grief
Sakura  (cherry blossoms) are constantly cited as the most recognizable sign of spring in Japan. When trees all over the country burst into breathtakingly beautiful clusters of pink flowers right about the time it gets warm enough, people  yearly go outside to enjoy. Blooming of the sakura is a beautiful  gift from mother nature, hanami (sakura viewing) is done by many people in spring.  But due to COVID-19 pandemic, parks right now are being closed to avoid more transmission of SARSCoV2.

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