The COVID-19 pandemic and the recent winter storm in Texas have compounded the anxiety and helplessness many feel. Still, there are always moments of joy – no matter how small. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Still Joy
One little boy asks
what ghosts eat for protein – candles?
One little boy says
he loves you more
than all of his toys.
One little scrappy cat
living under the vine
gobbles your secret offerings
at midnight.
The children of Palestine
light up your screen
speaking of their writing projects,
sharing drawings,
saying, hopefully someday
we will all eat
with our bigger families again.
And those mountains of books
teetering on the little table by the bed?
On the floor … more books
than you remember getting …
finally time to read them.
I’m reading 6 at once
depending on the mood
of any hour.
Why did we ever need
to go places
to have something to do?
