Stuck Inside

What is it like to stay up all night?

To be alone before your family comes home, 

What was it like before this pandemic took flight?

I would’ve lost this bet easily, 

Never to think we’d be back

to sharing a bathroom so equally, 

Or cleaning everything else so frequently. 

Remember when going outside 

wasn’t the highlight of your day,

Now we watch on Netflix,

what we could’ve seen on Broadway. 

How do I spend the rest of my time? 

Reading and watching any news I might find, 

Taking up crafts, a hobby or two, 

Give me the thread, the red and the blue. 

What is it like to give up independence?

No more driving, no more taking attendance, 

I’m here all the time, nowhere left to go, 

And yet I’m relaxed, going with the flow. 

I’ve learned to slow down, 

To write and take in, 

The sun as it sets, 

The warmth on my skin.  

Preparing meals for five 

instead of for one, 

I look around the table, 

How full it’s become.