My comfort tastes bitter
even as I sip tea and read
and answer my daughter’s
“What’s for dinner question?”
for the 100th time today.
Our freezer is stocked well
and that causes
as much unease as ease.
Someone else’s hunger
gnaws at my contentment
as I reply, “Spaghetti.”
I don’t question
the wisdom
of the stay-at-home order,
but am sickened
by all the cupboards empty
as our promises
of equality and justice.
Julie Ayers
Salon Z 