Allegory
Small town
End of a dark street
Movie theatre
Lit marque
Ticket booth
Masked girl in booth gaming on iPhone
Peers over peeper glasses
No one coming to movies
Where’s the blond quaffed girl
Who always cries going in
Coming out
Regardless the movie?
The physics teacher
With his deaf and blind mother?
The gang of teens
Always shouting on first row?
The Butch barmaid on night off
Always with backpack of food?
TV’s weatherman
Aisle seat
Snoring beginning to end?
Such a hollow sound
The action movie
Pistol shots so loud
As to reach the sidewalk
Frighten the resident cat
Checking out the curb
For scraps.
Ticket girl adjusts window sign
“masks encouraged”
Masked child with unmasked mother and father approach
Child slides money through window
“One adult, two children please”
“Don’t you mean two adults and one child”
Child adjusts mask.
“What do you think?”
Mother and father smile
Father pats his carry-on belt-holster
Ticket girl rises, “puss puss, pssss, psss”
Cat leaps to the ticket window ledge
Fangs barred, spreading long nailed paws.
Ticket girl smiles back, “encouraged, maybe?”
She places two masks under the window.
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During the noon news vaccinations are way up, reaching the volume of seven months ago. Gradually, the fearful of "side effects" like honesty and intelligence, are changing their game. And even the most belligerent are putting on masks rather than catch what they see their friends catching, a hold on life on a breathing machine.
Ron