A family with color and sound and warmth
Becomes a monotone paradise of silence
When the walls aren't cared for
When the windows are always kept closed
And people forget to put wood in the fireplace
Dusty ceilings, slippery floor, unheard feelings,
Withered plants, column of ants, tattered pants
And you wonder why the sun doesn't shine anymore

It bears a secret,
so immense and heavy,
it’s worth a thousand keys.

And laden like a million treasures -
all locked in a lone chest.

To write of it,
taboo.
To speak of it,
blasphemous.
But a taste of it,
heavenly bliss.

So I bear its secret...
One that paints grandeur
and weighs a lifetime.
And it’s worth my every breath.

The postcard, growing yellow
for so long

No contact
I don't have an address
to do anything about it

Besides, said in thoughts
my words are silting up
with caution

We only share the wind
that covers us

with sand from South
pollen from East, rain from West
and from North the cold comes

Then I pull a sweater
over my heart, stroke
with my fingers

on my one belly
thinking of your hands

Kiss the sky,

Only don't

Touch the curves and edges,

Only don't

Share a breath on a heartbeat,

Only don't

Snuggle tight in the driving wind,

Only don't

Trace words of love on each others lips,

Only don't

Break my heart

Two books, a window,
and a sky full of rain

The algorithm's not there
the numbers don't add up
and no one's got the fare,

so
we're staying in tonight
tomorrow
the next day
next week
next year?

and yet
freedom could be so near
but as usual
there's no one to care

Tonight, let's take a respite from the kids, get all dressed up, and head for the local grocery store.

We can even wear matching masks, take turns pushing the cart, and steal Kisses from the candy aisle.

You're on top of my shopping list, little lady, along with the melons and a case of toilet paper.

It may not be dinner or a movie, but it has its own romantic aura of about six feet in diameter.

Take my gloved hand & let's dance away at the checkout line, mask-to-mask. It's love in the time of COVID-19.