Walking in Lockdown. A poem by Kathy Bodall

I nod to you
You walking past my window
You do not see me
Me hiding in my house, fear my captor
You walking, eyes cast down, distracted
A person on a mission
But what is your mission?
What is our mission these days?
To walk just to walk
To walk to set fear free
Can it emancipate
When we walk in a prescribed space
Confined by our address?
You make the u-turn
Walk past in the other direction
I can see more of your face
Who are you?
A neighbor
A silhouette in my mind’s eye
From the blur when you would drive by
Heading off on a past mission
Are you the red car or the gray one?
Maybe tomorrow I will walk also
We will see each other
Nod from the other side of the street
Or hesitantly wave, say hello?
The day after, emboldened, How are you?
Over the weeks, we will see which you we each are –
Oh, you are the gray car
You are the yellow house
You are the one with the four kids.
And when the fear finally burns out
We can be you and me
Standing next to each other
Sharing our stories.
Perhaps, that is our mission
To first be seen by others
In hope that we can be known by others
In turn to be supported by each other
As we walk through this world.