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Never forget

how We ached for the presence of acquaintances

and friends, siblings and parents.

Never forget

the cruelty and gall required

to float Us $500 for rent.

 

Never forget

the joyous wedding reception-house party-impromptu

brunch-bulging bar watching the game exaltation.

Never forget

the dulcet-voiced advertisement narrator They used

to mask the CEO stockholder’s desperation.

 

Never forget

driving home at night after a loungey

do-nothing-on-the-couch evening with friends.

Never forget

after one month at home, Their unbridled fear

that We may never shop again.

 

Never forget

that We can keep doing virtual happy hours

with family and friends out of state.

Never forget

Those who made actuarial tables

of acceptable death rates.

 

Never forget

the anticipatory thrill of waiting

in rollercoaster or concert or ice cream shop lines.

Never forget

the bullshit They masked by cooing

“these unprecedented times.”

 

Never forget

how nice it is to watch just-released movies

on the big screen

Never forget

how eagerly They offered our immunocompromised bodies

to quench the machine.

 

Never forget

the contentment We felt trying on

all those new hobbies and skills.

Never forget

that for teachers to work,

they first had to draw up their wills.

 

Never forget

how carefree sidewalks felt before

having to constantly calculate six feet.

Never forget

who They did and did not allow

to march through the streets.

 

Never forget

once We’re unburdened, that grim reminder

of placing Our masks on Our heads.

Never forget

how some simply shrugged off

refrigerator trucks full of dead.

 

Never forget

You put on a mask because You care

and are one in a community.

Never forget

the wrenching of reason from phrases

like “achieve herd immunity.”

 

Never forget

that a night out

can be just a drink in the yard.

Never forget

They should’ve done more,

it was just too dang hard.

 

Never forget

to savor the next hug or high-five

given unbidden.

Never forget

They could’ve done more,

but that just wasn’t in ‘em.

Dennis William

Dennis is an aspiring English teacher and still listens to ska music. He lives in Portland, Oregon, which is fine, just not in the same way that DC is fine.

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