we live these days
with swabs up our noses
masks covering our faces
alcohol dripping from hands
that hesitate to shake other hands
we measure our distancing
we balk at embracing
we’re worried about breathing
for god’s sake
and everyone’s an expert
but nobody knows
what the hell is happening
or why or when
whatever we think “normal” is
will someday reappear
all i can say is that
every morning i go outside
and it smells a little bit
like napalm
cat at arm's length 