The cars in cue twist between orange cones
Like a snake, drivers and passengers waiting.
It’s still early morning at the testing facility
Which has not yet opened, but the day’s task
stretches like a painted hopscotch pattern
on a playground before recess begins.
Everybody is so tired of paying attention.
We all want to play, to stop being told what
should—and especially should not—be done.
The swab up the nose is our final test
before holiday begins with a road trip or flight,
and a gathering where families give thanks
at the table for the bounty they share, and
dare we say it again, each precious life.
David Feela writes columns for The Four Corners Free Press and The Durango Telegraph. Unsolicited Press released his newest chapbook Little Acres.
