Author: carmenbugan

For the time being

 

We are fine, they say, for the time being.

Enough food in the pantry, the prescriptions filled,

No need to go out of the house,

Except to let the dog run in the yard.

 

Our road has fallen silent, we can hear the trees

Near the river, it feels like a long Sunday

But without the church. There is plenty of time

To watch the trees bloom. When was the last time?

 

The elderly are used to sitting the days.

But we are also fine, the younger ones, for the time

Being. We have time to play with our children,

Bake, wash the curtains, and make love again, finally!

 

Now that the shelves at the shops are empty

And the parking lots are drive-through

Testing labs, we have time to pray

For those who are dying in the hospitals.

 

We pray the nurses will stay healthy through

Extended working shifts. We pray the doctors

Get a good night sleep before they fight to grip life

Slipping through their hands, for the time being.

 

In other countries many sing from their balconies

To cheer each other up through so much dying,

We call, check in, reassure, and smile

From a distance, hoping: for the time being.

 

March 15, 2020