the ways of others

we escape

best in our own thoughts
or into
a dust laden book,
turning

off the tube.
we can easily retreat

without others.
drink

or food. the long walk
through

old woods.
we need to fast on
the news.

let it do what it does
best,

cause panic and confuse.

we need to refuse
to
be worried, to be caught
up

in the mess of others.
to let them
be who they are,

they will never change,
they were sick
before the virus arrived.

the world each day grows
increasingly,
and horrifyingly
more strange.