Crocuses open
gold and purple
through pointy thin leaves
surviving late March snows.
Wisely the buds
close to evening chills
sheltering in place
until the warming sun returns.

We too draw in
within these darking days
while an invisible foe
crowned with timely fears
silently lurks.
We self-isolate
social distancing from friends
on our daily walks.

But my heart
does not do social distance.
It reaches round the world
embracing and connecting
feeling the distress
the worry of so many
and touching the ones I love.

From our gentle home
we zoom through virtual space
to laugh with smiling children
to ask even strangers
How are you… really?
We weep at Odes to Joy
on social media
each musician all alone
yet playing magic together.

We read weighty words
of concern, advice, lament.
Mornings we rise through heavy veils
into each recurring present day
remembering the work of love
separate and connected.

We watch outside the window
the slowly greening grass.

© by Signe Eklund Schaefer.
Used with the author’s permission.