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COVID-19 Lockdown
Mark Thalman

If you get tired of being isolated,
be thankful you’re not in a real prison.

Pretend you’re on a submarine, unless
you happen to be claustrophobic.

Dance around the house to Footloose.
Play your favorite song on a kazoo
made with wax paper and a comb.

Make funny faces in the mirror.
Try imitating your favorite actor.

Rearrange all the paintings,
so they can be appreciated
from a fresh perspective.

Realize things could be worse.
You could be trapped in Anne Frank’s attic.
You could be on the Titanic.
You could be on an operating table
while a surgeon holds your heart
in his hands.

—
Mark Thalman is the author of Stronger Than the Current, The Peasant Dance, and Catching the Limit. HIs poetry has appeared in CutBank, Pedestal Magazine, and Valparaiso Poetry Review, among others. Thalman taught English and Creative Writing in the public schools for 35 years.

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