Letter to My Great-Grandchildren - Sande Anfang

[Larry Robinson]

Letter to My Great-Grandchildren

Dear Chance and Aurora,

Maybe your grandparents 
told you about this, maybe not.
When they were a young couple
raising your mom & dad
the world changed overnight. 

One day we hiked the yellow hills
danced to jam bands 
marched by the thousands in protest.
We lounged in cafes & hugged our friends
just the way you do now.

But the world changed overnight.
It was like a war
everyone fighting the enemy of illness.
We had to stay at home &
walk six feet apart.

The stores were shuttered
& the theaters boarded up.
Restaurants closed because 
they couldn’t pay the rent.
The enemy was a virus that knew how to kill.

At first we cried, shocked 
with grief & fear.
Then the clocks melted.
We bit our nails & held our children close.
Some folks died, others used words to comfort us.

Gradually, we came to our senses
& did what we could. 
We found new ways to visit
read poems to our neighbors
over fences, played music in empty lots.

Though parks were closed, we still went on walks.
Everywhere, there were masked faces.
The dogs thought it funny that humans were muzzled.
The trees sighed deep sighs & the wildflowers 
bloomed in shades we’d never seen. 	

	- Sande Anfang

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