Sometime 
            Thursday afternoon
They canceled the world
The trees started disappearing from 
            my neighbors' yards, one by
     incautious one,
forced to stop growing
            by stronger powers than the growers of trees
The cars on the street parked in front of 
the houses of those 
who have too many vehicles 
            for their parking areas 
begin to disappear 
and, already, I miss them 
 
and even the garbage from those 
insufficiently contained recycling attempts 
that blows annoyingly week after week into our yard 
seems a tender reminder 
            of a time and place  
 
that I hope will return again one day
if only our love proved strong enough
to call it back 
                        

But who exactly is keeping my distance?
I'm keeping yours 
So happy, and proud, that you have entrusted something 
so valuable 
to me. 
Keep it, you said, in good health 
That's the whole point, isn't it?
 
But 'distance'?
How can we keep the very thing 
that keeps us apart?
 
l'll keep mine, 
we are tempted to say,
if you keep yours,
as we pass, in the sunshine, 
wind blowing freely, 
loosening that corona of dust 
from all the ravell'd sleeves to which
it might urge,
so treacherously,
its tiny hooks and claws to cling 
 
Wind blows, sun cleans 
We are tempted to throw our cautions to it 
You, my love, my darling, 
            we say 
I surrender it to you, 
                        my distance 
And you, yours, to me 
 
Enjoy it, we toast one another,
in good health