Outdistanced, a Poem by Bradley W. Buchanan

For the collection: 'Life in the time of #COVID'

Who will distance 

themselves the most 

from all this grotesque 

interpersonal mess?

I can’t run very fast or far

but I can retreat 

into a remoteness

that few can match 

and fewer still

can penetrate. 

Give me six feet 

and I will dive

a thousand leagues

beneath the skin-deep 

human abrasions

to find the silent monster 

at peace

in infinite objectivity.

You will die and I will die

in obverse order

with neighborly nods

and wry defiance 

along the way.

I step streetwise unhurriedly

and squint at what

I have given way to—

the panting shape 

of a runner 

whose shoes 

are echoes 

greatly outdistancing me

but hardly closer to isolation 

or to safety—

and kiss it goodbye.

---

Brad Buchanan’s writings have appeared in nearly 200 journals, and he has also published three book-length collections of poetry: 'The Miracle Shirker' (Poet’s Corner Press, 2005), 'Swimming the Mirror: Poems for My Daughter' (Roan Press, 2008), and 'The Scars, Aligned: A Cancer Narrative' (Finishing Line Press, 2019). He has also published two academic books, and has recently written blog entries for 'Poets & Writers' and SacWellness.com. His essay “I’m Done with Being a Cancer Survivor: What I am Now is a GvHD Patient” was published in 'Prometheus Dreaming', an online journal. He was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma in February 2015, and underwent a stem cell transplant in 2016, which involved temporary vision loss and disability, as well as an ongoing illness: chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease.