Disconnect

People are dying
while the bulbs I planted last fall
thrust and squirm,
exposing their brazen colors.

People are dying
while I binge-watch Fleabag,
laughing out loud
and refilling my wine glass.

Half a million and counting,
a viral annihilation
while I scroll my posts,
checking for Likes.

And my neighbor sits behind a closed door
as her father breathes his last breath,
while I devour words on a page,
wiping cake crumbs from my lips . . .

Dying to know what happens at the end.

Georgina Key and Mary Lawton live and work in Houston, Texas.