Sometimes – no, almost all the time, I’d like to just be alone

Solitary, solo

It wouldn’t be scary

I could blast the heat

Get off my feet

Open the blinds, or close them

Light a candle

Leave my clothes on the floor

Do whatever I want in my own retreat

One day I woke up and my husband was gone

I noticed the roof caving in as I left the house

I got to work

Inside it was quiet as a mouse

My co-worker wasn’t there

No one to ask when I had a question

Even the front desk was bare

“Excellent,” I said

Less people to talk to

But then no customers showed up

Brilliant, I thought, I’m in luck

I sat and played on the computer

All alone in my office

No clients, no bosses

I was fully humored

After an uneventful day I went to the mart

The aisles and shelves were empty

Nothing to put in my cart

I left hungry

But glad I didn’t have to see anyone

In the parking lot I heard a snap as my ankle rolled

I hobbled to my car since no one was around

A bone stuck out

I drove past urgent care but there was no staff in town

At my home, the roof had caved in

I had no food

My ankle was achy and swollen

Part of my house was on fire too

I’d left a candle burning

There was no fire department to call

No neighbors around at all

I had no husband to tell about my day

No co-worker to text and commiserate with

There was no money in my bank account

I’d achieved nothing anyway

Somehow I hobbled to the fire extinguisher

I sprayed and sprayed till the fire was out

My house was a wreck

I stayed in the garage where I started to pout

Not sure what to expect

This was my resort, me all alone

Hungry, nearly homeless, hurt

What I thought I wanted was a curse

For two years I sat and waited, an island

Then I heard a siren

The fire truck appeared and a fireman announced,

“It’s over!”

My husband, my co-workers, my customers, all kinds of people poured out of the truck

There they were

At the sight of them, I became unstuck

I hobbled over and we all embraced

I looked each one in the face

Happy to see them again

Happy to be with them

The fireman gleefully said,

“COVID is dead.”