Read Poem: Love in the Time of Corona, by Jared Michael Ellis

I am scared.
I wasn’t
I was wrong.

I went to sleep fast like a child.
Carefree.
Confident
in my mothers ability
to protect me.

I went to sleep in my bed
and woke up in a place I did not recognize.
Scared.
Cradled in my mother’s arms.
Disoriented.
Nothing is familiar.
Overnight my world
My playground
became a place I did not recognize.
Overnight my home,
My oasis,
Became my solitary confinement.

I trust my mother.
If she can make the flowers bloom May
then I trust I will bloom too.

I close my eyes so I can see better.
See what my natural eyes cannot.
I need to see a future.
One that is normal.
Maybe this is our new normal?
For now, I’ll settle for
one with hope
One with music in the south loop
One with social distancing karaoke.
And long distance relationships that span a…