Covid-distanced from friends and community,
I find friendships on YouTube and Amazon Prime,
following strangers into their homes
for coffee and conversation.
Even if one-sided,
it’s an interesting journey
into a world
I’d previously ignored,
and of which I was quite unaware.
Surprisingly, I find it delightful -
although a little unilateral
in this monotony.
My patterns of speech
meanwhile
seem to get rusty in the process
as they mostly remain within
While reflexes from mind to tongue
seem to slow just a bit.
I notice this
in my phone calls
to real friends of mine,
and family members,
who remain at bay
during this diseased pause
of living.
(c) 2021 by Iris. B Struller