When COVID began to sweep across America, schools, business, and even churches closed, and the country was quiet, it was like a sore on a diabetic foot. The sore didn’t heal and turned into gangrene when George Floyd couldn’t breathe and was murdered on asphalt. When stores reopened because losses were too great, the church stayed closed while protestors lined the streets, marched, and demanded justice for Floyd and others. Ministers blamed a bishop for staying closed, contin

Our son, Alek moved to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in early December 2019. We Facetime every day. I’m nervous he is 24 hours away but excited he’s having an adventure. At 32 years old, single, with Angelo and I relatively healthy, he goes off, telling himself the time is right to do this. I tell myself if anything happens to him, I’ll hop on a plane and be there in 24 hours. He traveled to Vietnam with a N-95 mask, for pollution purposes, telling us everyone wears one. Close t

(—how long will you stay here —) fieldglyph stonemarker, you (—how long highwaystill & pantryfull three to a bed—five to a house treefruit & wildherb (—but how long can you joy here (—but how long storystream & longsoak march april may (—joy here little hand in mine—face against my chest (—don’t tell me noonsun & childdream (—the sun the sun is an exit—) *first line adapted from Brenda Hillman **last lines adapted from Emily Skaja Sherre Vernon is

Living in a crowded city, you tend to forget what a “quiet street” is. Car horns, brakes, people roaming around, laughing or arguing, the regular sound of trams and buses passing by, they’re all part of a daily routine we start internalizing sooner or later. Quarantine has shown us that peace can be found even in the midst of a crowded boulevard, where not a day goes by without at least one traffic jam. Or at least, that’s how it used to be. Being on the sidewalk at rush hour