These masks we wear
Allow us to breathe—
To inhale with confidence,
To exhale with impunity.
Behind the masks we sneer
At the foolishness we bequeath,
Feigning so much diffidence
For any sense of community.
These masks hide our fear.
Doubt and anxiety seethe
As we hope for tolerance
And, yes, an illusion of immunity.
…………
Bruce Morton resides in Montana and Arizona. His volume of poems, Simple Arithmetic and Other Artifices, was published in 2015. His poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in anthologies and magazines including, most recently, Muddy River Poetry Review, Rye Whiskey Review, Adelaide, San Pedro River Review, The Lake (UK), and Main Street Rag.