Typewriter Rodeo: Loved Ones

Each week, the Standard reaches out to Austin’s Typewriter Rodeo for a custom poem on Texas topics.

By Sean PetrieOctober 2, 2020 1:21 pm,

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many families and friends to keep their distance — even at times when a hug is really needed. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.

Loved Ones

Maybe yours
Are healthy and strong
Maybe yours
Have the benefit of youth
But probably
Like most of us
You have at least one
Or many
In that “at-risk”
Box

And what can you do?
Should you visit? How close?
Should you wear a mask? How long?
What about weddings?
Thanksgiving?
Even funerals?

Well
Some say you should just
Live your life
But it’s not so easy
When you want your loved ones
To do the same

And so we love —
By being strong
We love —
By being safe, patient
We love with all the virtues

And of course we worry
Whether others will do the same
As we pray
For the kindness
Of strangers.

photo of typewritten poem

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