We Are Fine

for the time being,

we are fine, they say.

time to drink tequila

and sleep through the day.

to plague masks, empty streets,

barren shelves.

the government says

fend for yourselves.

there’s plenty of time

for numbers to drop.

we are fine, they say,

it soon will stop.

we now have time

to watch states burn,

and fight for rights

that needn’t be earned.

doctors and nurses

watch life dwindle.

hope and pleasant dreams

are never rekindled.

so we all check-in

on each other,

from a distance

despite urges to smother

because we are fine

they say,

for the time being.