A side by side stroll is a ghost of the past
Stepping into an emotional abyss six-feet wide
A division of heart from soul
This costly toll keeping families apart
Yet, for old guys like me distance is key.

After all, old is as old does
When Covid-19 is the cause
“I’m as old as I feel,” I’m not
“Eighty is the new 60,” forget that
Corona calls the shots as if almighty
And, vulnerability is a senior’s reality.

Feeling younger is no longer sought
My only thought is to get older
With compliance to CDC my science
I’m protecting everyone else by protecting myself
With no cure in sight I must isolate
Hiding like hell from the bug’s deadly bite

Life and death reside in my own hands
Wash ‘em ‘till they crack whenever I can
The primary defensive attack is to stay at home
A prison of sorts is a safe haven of choice
With the warden, my wife an ally
Surviving as a single unit a must
No “she “or “I,” just “us.”

All the drama at play is simply surreal
Not unlike a Shakespearean metaphor
Life, a rehearsal with no curtain call or encore
The absurdity of it all
Reminds me of Woody Allen’s refrain
“I’m not afraid of death;
I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”
In a time to be old