Days of
Being a face in a crowd
Sharing a table in a restaurant
Offering peace in church with a hug
Or a handshake
Cheering for your favorite team
Nights of
Brushing elbows in a crowded pub
Thousands of cell phone lights
And boozy sing alongs in crowded concerts
Blissful din among a party of friends
Every day
Every night
Touching
Those days are slowly unraveling before us like thread on a wooden spool
All tightly wound and shiny
Brightly colored a few short months ago
A lifetime
Today it sits jumbled, as if spun through a broken sewing machine too fast.
Tangled and loose.
We pick it up and begin winding it again.
We gather up hopeful needles, and entwine our threads from a distance
It begins with millions of masks
Caring souls hunched over colorful cloth
Sewing shields against an invisible enemy
Threads of life
We weave together a beautiful tapestry of love and care
Intertwined with
Sympathy and sacrifice
Empathy and empty rooms
Brave and bruised faces
Prayer and pain
More prayer
Boundaries narrowed
Hearts open wide
Faces lit as we reach out in the darkest hours of the night.
Salvation through our screens.
Impromptu concerts late at night
FaceTime calls filled with laughter and tears
A new dimension of collective kindred
Virtual hugs felt around the world.
Parents and teachers juggling education, work, and childcare from kitchen tables.
Bits and bytes piece together our days
Our shared humanity streaming live
Reading to children and anyone else who wants to hear.
Collecting food for those less fortunate.
Prayer chains everywhere for the sick and suffering.
Go fund me goals met
Video after video of tributes to essential workers
Shining lights and banging pots for the front line
Remembering those we’ve lost
The loving side of viral
Finding solace in the newfound solitude.
Stargazing at 3 am
Planting starter seeds for a new garden you will share with whoever needs
Learning a new dance step or a long abandoned musical instrument
Watching a child learn in slow motion
Witness the planet heal briefly
Waiting to weave
Patience is survival
A lesson learned
Long neglected introspective journeys
Every day trips into our conscience
Returning with a nourished soul
Days go by unmarked and unnamed
Time is our new economy
Hours stretch before us
We count the days like coins in a fountain
Wishing them away
While cherishing the gifts each hour brings
An existential paradox
We find ourselves speaking words strung together in a syntax we’ve never spoken
before
They feel strange on our tongues, and surreal in our imaginations
Moments of fear and sadness morph into week-long days
Bundles of brightly colored bobbins break free from their coils
Unraveling and tangling
Anxious days when we can’t even thread the needle
We struggle against our new normal
With mercy and might
Protest and prevail
We tug on the knots
Release the tension
And begin to weave again
A new tapestry of tales
An arras full of colors never before seen in our lifetime
Something beautiful
A work of art that will redefine the soul of Humanity
Wee Hour Words 