Together Apart
In and out of the same four rooms Blossoms outside the window A view rarely noticed until It becomes the new office Faces in a grid staring back at me My connection to the outside Where the heart still beats The world turns round And Mother Nature soothes With swaying trees against the sunrise And bird choruses heralding springtime
Runners break free of their confines Soaring down paths and avenues Silhouettes of the restless moving up and down steps In the empty stadium of a school devoid of life Where bells have gone silent and hallways empty Bearing no jubilant banners of prom or graduation Outside the heart still beats The world turns round And Mother Nature soothes With her fresh, fragrant breezes And rainbow-filled skies after the rain
Shoppers hurry by with averted glances Fearful eyes peering above meager masks The store darkened by underlying tension And the unspoken how long? HOW LONG? Clutching precious rations they rush out the door Where the heart still beats The world turns round And Mother Nature soothes With her technicolor blooms Warm sun on glittering rivers
Screens feed continual streams of data Numbers, graphs, trajectories, and photos Probabilities, possibilities…and no certainties As a giant question mark hovers over an unwritten future Screens also offer distraction, compassion, connection Faces of loved ones smiling and yearning to be near While our hearts still beat The world turns round And Mother Nature soothes With a spirit of unwavering courage And the will to live on