Exodus by Catherine Arra

And we went into the desert of quarantine.

Sat under Buddha’s tree, faced the shadow of ourselves,
bright personas, grand schemes stripped of stage.

Some armed themselves, summoned gangs, gathered guns,
loaded words cruel as bullets, blind with blame.

Some laid punches of slight upon children, spouses
kicked the dog for good measure, spit on the sidewalk.

Others summoned that swarthy stranger, traded secret messages
in coded dreams. Stopped waiting for happiness.

Said come now, sit at my table, eat, drink with me.
Share this space and story.

And we who would never have met, kissed with ancient longing,
history thick as blood, and fell, fell, fell in love.

Catherine Arra is the author of Deer Love (Dos Madres Press, 2021), Her Landscape, Poems Based on the Life of Mileva Marić Einstein (Finishing Line Press, 2020), (Women in Parentheses) (Kelsay Books, 2019), Writing in the Ether (Dos Madres Press, 2018), and three chapbooks.  Arra is a native of the Hudson Valley in upstate New York, where she teaches part-time and facilitates local writing groups. Find her at www.catherinearra.com