Quarantined

^Quarantine

^{Last night I cried because my dreams,}

^{My dreams the only place I come into contact with people}

^{Turned into virtual chatrooms, little squares with faces.}

^{Zoom Life! It’s like Hollywood Squares for hours a day.}

^{Now it’s dripped like nasal drainage into my dreams.}

^{I’ve become this dog who returns to his dreams,}

^{Who has heard the sound of food poured into his bowl.}

^{The dog who has been told not to venture out of this room}

^{And has done so. My work sent me an article today}

^{About ‘working remotely,’ everything is ‘done remotely,’}

^{Right now, which basically means, ‘have no human contact.’}

^{In the article it reminds us, ‘there is no bubbler working remotely,’}

^{And encourages starting “Bubbler Chat,” by sending an Emoji.}

^{Screw that! I don’t want a unicorn or a duck hatching out of an egg.}

^{I want to laugh about our co-worker who kept a date in her trunk.}

^{I want to laugh about what we could put in the ‘sparkle moments,’ envelope.}

^{When I get an old Mariah Carey song in my head, I want someone to belt it out with.}

^{“Go on expeditions and find new spaces to work in your house,”}

^{The article encourages, as if I’m Dora the Explorer and my studio apartment}

^{Has magic keys to other kingdoms if I could just pronounce the sound of ‘k’ correctly.}

^{Before God sent us all to our rooms for a few months,}

^{Couldn’t It have given those of us who live in studios a shout out.}

^{I mean look down, the world is divided into those who ride buses}

^{And those who have no problem hailing cabs whenever they want.}

^{Somedays I think about returning to the office like we used to dream of vacation.}

^{“Damn, I can’t wait to be locked in my tiny office with its palm frond green walls.”}

^{The site of it feeling like viewing a sharp formation of intricate and stunning}

^{Green and Purple plumage of long to be thought of extinct birds.}

^{“Ahhh! An office, with a water cooler, and bubbler talk…”}

^{Wearing clothes that aren’t my pajamas, finishing a coffee that I bought,}

^{Becoming a patron of somewhere, a place, that is not your youtube channel.}

^{Waiting for Fridays and Sundays being Sundays instead of having a week}

^{That feels all like one really fucked up Sunday. Growing to love 4:00.}

^{Walking outside into the evening air. I don’t know if I’ll ever look at you the same,}

^{Room. Look at how clean you are. The cleanliness of you is like}

^{Scars, artifacts. I am going to have mess some stuff up,}

^{Empty out this fridge, the person who lives here never has groceries for a week.}

^{It might even take a new mattress, so I can sign myself out of Hollywood Squares.}

^{For sure, the computer is going to take a vacation.}

^{I’m sure he’s tired of me, and I need to live outside of him}

^{For quite some time. We’re all going to have to be cautious,}

^{The phrase, “Go to your room,” could induce PTSD symptoms.}

^{I’ll have to avoid Costco and supermarkets that sell in bulk.}

^{If I see anyone with mass amounts of toilet paper or bottled water,}

^{I could be privy to hiding outside somewhere fearing another pandemic,}

^{And I think I’m good. I get it. I’ve learned my lesson.}

^{Be happy with each other, the earth, all that’s around us}

^{Cause we know now Mother Earth isn’t playing}

^{When she decides she’s had enough and it’s time for us}

^{“To stay in our rooms and think about we’ve taken for granted.”}