Droppin Dimes

place is straight packed
I could not believe
My naive little eyes
watching a ravens game
during a late brunch
in a filled bar
surrounded by a pandemic

waiters crammed in between
at the bar, the tables, the bathroom
publicly smiling
secretly panicking

with us
eating our eggs, drinking our drinks
failing to convince each other
that business is as usual
and that
is the scariest part

(2023-06-01) Here I had just eaten inside a restaurant I think for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic. I felt nothing but anxiety the whole time we sat. I wore my mask. I tried to go to the bathroom when there weren’t many other people moving around or standing. Though it was eight months into the pandemic, the return to normalcy amazed me. No vaccines, not as much masking as there should’ve been. I didn’t feel ready. I’m not sure I feel ready now.