What do people ponder in this pandemic?
We are sharing in this status of social distancing.
Yet what is our story?
How is yours different from mine?
I was here in Ann Arbor before the pandemic.
Ann Arbor’s streets bustled with student life.
Tourists strolled, taking in the sights and sound.
The homeless’ small voices whispered, “Spare some change,” from the city’s nooks and crannies.
I am here in Ann Arbor during the pandemic.
The streets are silent.
Students and tourists ghosted from the streets.
The homeless’ words, “Spare some change,” speak louder as humanity is absent from Ann Arbor’s streets.
As a barista, people are my work’s life line.
COVID-19 dried out the waters that sustained the business.
My boss valiantly struggled to balance safety and business.
She partnered with initiatives to help her employees out.
She regretted she couldn’t give more.
In these times, her drive and dedication to her staff is worth more than a check’s weight.
One fine day, I took to the streets as a runner.
All my activity is taken from me.
It leaves me seeking structure to my day.
On Palmer Field, runners like me jog.
A mother pushes her stroller.
A handful of people play tennis on the courts.
A few days later, signs appear, saying there’s a fine for those using the field and courts.
But does it mean that the runners have no place to go?
Businesses along the streets advertise carryout.
Businesses etch love out to the city on their windows.
Anxiousness of unemployment, did I get the paperwork done?
Unable to talk to a human being makes worry gnaw my insides.
Co-workers struggle to get unemployment.
I have so many blessings.
At this time, I seek peace through the written word.
It is here I share a glimpse of my pandemic ponderings.
