Lockdown Rumi

for April

There is a field out there
Beyond the warnings and the masks
Where we don’t have to worry
About social distancing
And where your inner candle can shine
As frisbees float by

You are my Lockdown Rumi
My partner when the music stopped
My co-conspirator, my energizer
My twin in downward dog
Though only one of us can hold a handstand

If it were not for local outings
To Uwajimaya and 99Ranch
Our travel jones would overwhelm us
As it is, even Safeway poke
Is like a trip to Asia

Lockdown has messed with time
Fourteen weeks turned to 20, then 30
Now 32
We’ve turned into a mini submarine crew
With a good view

Life, now in Zoom
Punctuated by beautiful walks with you
Who knew a green screen could be so fun?
Evenings that blend together
Made comfortable with ciders and Netflix

Outside, a pandemic rages
Devastating to those it hits
Invisibly violent to those it misses
Torture to those not this lucky when the music stopped

Outside, an election rages
Red Mirage, Blue Tsunami: how will the dice roll?
In our lifetimes, events have never seemed
So precarious, so brittle

Small victories, small pleasures dot the days
Our card wall
Freshly made rice
A newly discovered Bardo
And some flannel

Through this whole adventure
You’ve tipped and tapped
And tippety-tapped
Your way to a book
A book for these times
Whose pages will flicker on thousands of screens

They say you should
Let the beauty of what you love be what you do
It seems
We’ve pulled that off
In Lockdown
Together