Tense OverDue

Mo Daley

I’m afraid I’m losing my mind
I’m perpetually tense
Tense intense pretense
Tense every minute of the day
Day turns into night
Day one day two day three are all the same
Same stress
Same house
House is a place of work
House doesn’t seem like home
Home is no longer cozy
Home is what I miss
Miss real work
Miss friends
Friends who listen
Friends who support
Support each other
Support our kids
Kids who don’t understand
Kids who don’t deserve isolation
Isolation that angers us
Isolation to save the human race
Race away from others
Race to the store
Store what we want
Store what we need
Need to walk away from technology
Need human contact
Contact old friends
Contact family
Family who I can’t hug
Family so far away
Away from here but not my heart
Away from my embrace
Embrace the luxury to work from home
Embrace this time of reflection
Reflection sends my mind racing
Reflection on the important
Important things now change
Important people stay the same
Same thing day after day
Same heart being torn apart
Apart is painful
Apart is frustrating
Frustrating is something I can live with
Frustrating is a small price to pay
Pay the devil his due
Pay it forward with love
Love
Due

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Bridge the Distance: An Oral History of COVID-19 in Poems Copyright © 2021 by Mo Daley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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