Nothing is Normal
By Esther Cohen
Nothing is normal.
Nothing is normal now.
Marion said Carlos said the world is biblical.
We’re inside ourselves in a way we weren’t before.
Opposite of social distancer I’ve
met friends and strangers and anyone else
all day all my life and yet not now if
I am able to put aside this world for a while
presidents and consequences maybe this
will change them both change
people without food and in prisons
and shelters all of us are here together
if I am able to breathe slow deep breaths
every morning first time
in so many years I write
a sentence or two even three or four
one of them occasionally ok
I’m almost happy to be here
in this small apartment
after so many years
rent stabilized orange
books to read for a few lifetimes food
enough for you and me
two bottles of vodka for Quarantinis
one block from the park where even though
nothing is normal and we know we are together
in a way we haven’t been in years
there are yellow forsythias now.
Esther Cohen writes, teaches, and is a cultural activist.
She posts a poem most days at esthercohen.com.
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