The Quarantine Chronicles, Day 26

DAY 26: Actresses, journalists and

intellectuals -- ghosts of fantasies

imagined women walking from room

to room how they move through one

another because they are ghosts

of the cotton-candy of a lazy mind.

I see myself in the wings, checking

my tie, I walk up to the lectern

the podium, counting my steps

lay down my notes and begin

to speak with casual opening

remarks before getting into the

tragic substance of death, death,

more death -- pain, weeping,

loss, forever -- now.

My cat is a real thing calling

my name, a living being to

remind me of heat, breathing

heartbeat, I lower my nose

into its neck to find comfort

in the feel and smell of warm

fur and the feedback the

reciprocation the answer to

all questions -- yes, you exist

in the real world, you are

whole, worthy and loved if

only by a fellow creature

who doesn't understand but

understands better than you.