into our corners!

 

 What divides us?

could it be that the pandemic
has emotionally hijacked us back toward tribalism?

a bear got into our cabin the day before
we came back up to the Smokies,
my grandchild would soon be inside that cabin,
even though I know and love bears dearly,
I chose the safety of my grandson over the life of the bear,
when push comes to shove,
I retreat to protecting my blood,

the pandemic threw us back into simpler units for a time:
parent and child, just the partner, a lot of being alone,
for the other could bring contagion ,

the handshake superseded, disavowed,
let alone the hug,
no trust of the touch of another,
for that contact might make us sick,
space, a final frontier not to be crossed,

so no wonder we deny the stranger,
even the other ideas, the trust that we are a larger self,

we humans herd ourselves,
and the pandemic shocked us
back toward only trusting the familiar,
how easy it has been for the body politic to fragment,
we fear the germ, whether the literal one
or the idea that challenges us,

damn the pandemic,
and damn the fear of the other.

by Henry H. Walker
7/2/24