Mary Ellen Shaughan lives in Amherst, Massachusetts with her beagle, Zeke. Her poetry has appeared in numerous journals. Her first collection, Home Grown, is available on Amazon.
Survivor of Covid19
After 167 days and ten hours
of self-quarantine, she wanders
down one grocery aisle then
up another, as if she has all
the time in the world.
Because others have provided for her,
she has never gone hungry,
but she has missed shopping.
She has especially missed touching
items, choosing the right one.
In produce, the green basket she carries
begins to fill. Her hand brushes the smooth skin
of a golden mango, then lightly squeezes
a plump orange, and caresses several
melons before placing one in her basket.
It is not her choices that fascinate me,
but the attention she gives each one,
touching item after item, as one who
is blind gently and wonderingly
strokes the face of a loved one.