duster

in a catalog

i saw the perfect duster

waterproof

with a wide brim hat

wax cotton

i thought it would be

all i ever wanted

on a cold winter’s day

i still look at the catalog

the page turned down

spring turned to summer

summer to fall

winter arrived

but not the duster

almost a year since

life stopped

i get up

really

no where to go

i go through the motions

but the world has changed

it seems open

yet mostly closed

everything crawls

with virus and germs

people are contagious

so i put the catalog away

i grabbed the old coat

from the closet

walked out into the rain

my hair wet

my clothes drenched

but who even knows

who really cares

perpetually

locked behind closed doors

it is has almost been a year

i thought the duster would be great

i guess it will wait

i wait

to live

i look out the window

watch the time go

crawling so very slow

what I miss most

the anticipation

of something good

on the edge

about to come

someplace to go

somewhere to grow

someone to meet

you really don’t know

a duster arriving

a joy in living

a sense of arriving

a beautiful kind

of intentional surviving

— patty