Loneliness
by Charlotte Digregorio

coronavirus
walking in a park with sculptures
from a distance
i watch a man mask the face
of Honest Abe

downtown empty
i pass the shuttered gallery
with the portraits
of ordinary people
that spoke to me

returning
to my apartment
i open the window
and miss even the street violinist
with his grating notes

listening to the robins
i eat from a can
with gratitude
aware of the elderly
with bare larders





This tanka sequence was previously published in Red Lights, July 2020.

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