community within the distancing

distancing away from each other

social distancing is not just physical space between us,

it is the off putting weirdness of Zoom interactions,

those rectangular boxes, 

windows into where the other person is physically,

but eyes don’t meet eyes,

and it’s hard to read the other’s feelings,

hard to get past how distracted the visual says the other person is,

the smile and nodding head help a bit to build the connection,

though other problems abound:

poor lighting so it can be hard to even see one another, 

poor connection so it can be hard to hear each other,

let alone the distance of those who resist sharing their face onscreen,

retreating into their anxieties or the distraction of multi-tasking,

building community at school is a wonder

that calls for many hands and many faces working together,

touching each other with the eyes and with the self,

I joy and despair as I watch and feel all of us

craving the psychic touch of another and another,

while denied the physical touch and proximity

that help the pieces find each other,

when they can then click together into a whole,

in which many become one.

by Henry H. Walker
May 1, ‘20