Strange Beings in Strange Times

Something changed.

People crawled out from under rocks,

Wiped the moss from their heads

And headed out alone or in choleric pairs,

To where they thought the good stuff was.

Strange people shimmied through gaps

In old walls and shook away the dust.

Unfamiliar genes showed themselves 

And we stared upon these orphic beings,

Now forced out to surrender their corral,

Snatch at what was left, perverse objects,

Seed potatoes, tomato seeds, the seeds 

Of tomorrow and beyond, tiny embryos 

Of the cycle of waking and sleeping. 

People fell from other cosmoses,

They straightened their rare features

And walked in the sheer world in search

Of everyday things and uncommon ground.

People emerged from the hidden layer,

Threw off their swampish tinge and

With determination cast their nets

And gathered what they could, 

Disinfectant and green lentils before

Dipping once again into hiding.

Don’t go out, that’s what we were told

And yet a previously unseen community

Emerged and in their need were glimpsed.

If only for a day in these strange times.