I dream in quarantine…
Visions of pandemic swirling in my head
We are made in the image of the Zoom god:
Screens bursting forth from our necks
Rectangular heads too wide to fit through doors
Stay home – shelter in place!
Look at my screen: you won’t see my face
I breathe pixels: data flows through my veins
If only I could keep from going insane.

My boss threatens to give me the sack:
I say “That’s fine: I’m not coming back…
But I do plan to hang out a while
This afternoon.
I like playing with my colleagues
And making funny faces on Zoom.”

He glares at me as anger reddens his face
Shaking his head as I spin in place,
Singing “Simply the best…
Better than all the rest! Better than
Anyone.” But he doesn’t understand
He’s the best boss in the land.
I wake up amazed, thinking it was real:
Just another Coronavirus dream,
Sights and sounds I could feel.

But that was then, and this is now:
We’ll weather the storm
And make it somehow:
At least, that’s what I’m told,
And I can only hope
We can find a better treatment
Than hot water and soap.