A Thousand Zooms

Heartbeats fast, Facetime lag Washing hands like I’m under attack How can I quarantine When my snacks are gone…

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Time slows down,

Eyes go dry

From staring at screens that whisper, “Why?”

How can I unmute this mic

Without waking my cat and regretting my life?

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I have Zoomed every day… inside

Waiting for… the end of time

Darlin’ don’t be afraid, I have masked… for a thousand years

And sanitized… for a thousand more

All along I believed I would hoard

Toilet paper and Lysol stored

I have prepped… for a thousand years

While my sanity quietly roars

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Calendars gone

What is time?

It’s March again for the 7th time

Put on jeans just to feel alive

Then back to my sweatpants—my soul’s in decline

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One more Zoom

Frozen face

“Can you hear me?”

“Okay, great.”

Yes, I’m still here

I never left

I just became a couch-shaped silhouette

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I have Zoomed every day… inside

Waiting for… real human life

Darlin’ don’t be afraid, I have masked… for a thousand years

And door-dashed fries… for a thousand more

All along I believed in my core

That this was two weeks, maybe four

But I stayed… for a thousand years

And forgot what I’m alive for