Answer:
The virtual hug cannot replace the actual hug,
And “I-contact” is not the same as
Eye contact.
Yet we make do, with Zoom,
And FaceTime,
And whatever else there is.
But still, we long for what comes after,
And what used to be.
I get to work from home
Because I have a home,
Lucky for that.
I get to shop for groceries,
Two weeks’ worth at a time,
Because I have a roof and walls,
And kitchen cabinets,
And I’m lucky for those as well.
Walking these green hills
Of full-on Spring,
Plum blossoms and cherry, jasmine and wisteria,
Calla lilies, ceanothus, and
So many tangerines in the yard
That even a horde of marauding squirrels
Can’t eat them all,
One would hardly suspect
The burgeoning death and despair
In the city below, the country, the world,
And yet, I won’t forget,
I can’t forget.
Lately when I go walking
I wear the black baseball cap
from a dozen years ago
That says “Obama” above the brim,
With that hopey, changy thing
Still steeped in every thread
And somehow, I feel better
As if the hat itself had the power
To bring back a time
In our own galaxy
And our own country
Where the person in charge
Liked other people
As much as he liked himself
Or maybe more,
And where that person
Loved his wife
And she loved him right back
And where they weren’t afraid to show it
And where that person could sing Al Green and defend the Constitution
At the same time.
And when I walk,
I see the faces,
keeping social distance,
doing the dance,
Yet they’re still close enough to read the hat,
And I think they are feeling what I am feeling
That maybe there are days ahead,
As good, or maybe better, than those we left behind,
At least for those who survive to see them
Step-by-step explanation:
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