Sometimes I think I see the virus floating in the air
It often comes to me, as now, when in despair
Of leaving here and going there
I fear the very breathing that keeps me alive
Will achieve the very opposite, and I’ll die
As I make my way to you
Yet if I can’t leave and if I can’t go
If I can’t mask and glove my way through this miasma
All these droplets and aerosols, all this exterior asthma
How can I be sure you will ever realize
How much I long to be beside you
Yes, it’s fine to FaceTime and to Zoom
It’s fine to chat and to WhatsApp too
Yet I’m now going to leave the room and I will soon arrive
Unless, of course, en route I sicken and die
All I ask, my love, when I’m at your door, please note
How well I’ve navigated the lethal specks and motes.