After This

He was an ICU doctor at a hospital in a big city, facing the pandemic head on.

Having met him years ago, I noticed during our video chat that he'd shaved his longtime beard. “The N95 mask is a harsh master,” he said.

Listener Poet Frankie Abralind

April 2020

 

After This

I hope that we will blossom like

flowers, post-hibernation,

colorful and exquisite ejections

from a cover so flat and devoid

I hope that we will burst elegantly out

and unfold to a fresh warm day,

that bees and birds will come visit

unharried by sleet

or the weight of the world

I hope we return

with the joy we are known for,

post quarantine,

petals bespoke