Living Is Better Than Dying
Susan Ahlbrand
Living in a house with a first-year teacher
helping her navigate unfamiliar waters
with a boat that just changed to a paddleboard
Living in a house with a 25-year veteran math teacher
whose nickname is Graber
“How do you do this?
“I don’t want to do that.”
Living in a house with a high school sophomore
whose first varsity baseball season got benched
his socialization has been stripped.
Learning from a computer has never been his thing.
Living in a house with a college freshman
who got yanked back home mid-way through
carving out and embracing his independence.
Living in a house with a college junior
who turned 21 in quarantine with no bars to go to
nowhere to flash that ID
Living in a house of Collective Discomfort
we can’t worry about me in a time of we.
Together the six of us navigate newness
knowing that . . .
Living in a house
is better than dying alone
because Covid locked out
loved ones.