Invisible Enemy

There are wars

And then there are wars.

With no man’s land before you

Eyes measure time in the trenches of hospital corridors

Where death and waste share contentment

Giving shelter as further contamination floats the air

Atop their PPE and beyond

Exhaustion can block vision

Amidst spiraling barbs of fatigue

Where gown and face cover once protected

Now there’s fear of returning home

Of bringing death to their families

Hearts beat silent

Here in virus wars of plenty

This place of perpetual aggression

Where resurrected endings might reappear this winter

Astride infected translucent mist

Beyond any beginning or end

Trusting only past scars

Carried beneath aged and slacken faces

So many await another stumbling sprint

Into that which drifts the invisible poison’s tenacity

Knowing too well its stealth-like aggression

Its “catch-me-if-you-can” winner take all game

Keep us the lucky ones

For now

Yet

A new strategy awaits the fall

Two enemies