A legacy of verse.
Inspired by your birthday,
Further rhymes shall I coerce.
Dare I reflect on all that’s happened
Through the strangest year we’ve known?
When this gets read some future day
How far will we have grown?
The virus so invisible
Moved like an eclipse,
One day in the nursing homes
The next day on the ships.
Who was it last I saw unmasked
And who might they have seen?
Since no assurance could be sought
I started quarantine.
And who might they have seen?
Since no assurance could be sought
I started quarantine.
Banished to the upstairs,
You resolve to fix my meals,
Leave them on the landing.
Not too bad a deal!
It was a fearful period
That came to verge on comic,
Brought back our first memories
Of courting days platonic.
Now banned from the kitchen,
What needed to stay cold
I store outside the backdoor—
Northwest climate-controlled.
For some time we don’t even dare
To venture out by car;
Feels post-apocalyptical
In lands both near and far.
We take long walks six feet apart
And I explore by bike,
Concealed along Madrona Creek
Whose gurgling sounds I like.
With dwindling respect for the signs
To stay out of the park
We park by the perimeter
So to the falls embark.
And as the air starts warming,
We inflate our tandem
Paddling nearby sound and lakes
With wildlife sightings random.
How bad has this all been for us?
We seem to have a buffer
That keeps us and our loved ones safe
While many others suffer.
You visioned a new family member,
Having Rob construct its bower.
And after false starts, suddenly
We give a husky shower.
And just as you anticipate,
With instincts maternal,
Our days grow more chaotic
Yet progress in things fraternal.
What is this ever-seeking
To make memorable this life,
To do right by all its creatures
That motivates my wife?
How blessed I am to have you
Occupying the same bubble
To hold and cherish as we age
If not stay out of trouble!
You resolve to fix my meals,
Leave them on the landing.
Not too bad a deal!
It was a fearful period
That came to verge on comic,
Brought back our first memories
Of courting days platonic.
Now banned from the kitchen,
What needed to stay cold
I store outside the backdoor—
Northwest climate-controlled.
For some time we don’t even dare
To venture out by car;
Feels post-apocalyptical
In lands both near and far.
We take long walks six feet apart
And I explore by bike,
Concealed along Madrona Creek
Whose gurgling sounds I like.
With dwindling respect for the signs
To stay out of the park
We park by the perimeter
So to the falls embark.
And as the air starts warming,
We inflate our tandem
Paddling nearby sound and lakes
With wildlife sightings random.
How bad has this all been for us?
We seem to have a buffer
That keeps us and our loved ones safe
While many others suffer.
You visioned a new family member,
Having Rob construct its bower.
And after false starts, suddenly
We give a husky shower.
And just as you anticipate,
With instincts maternal,
Our days grow more chaotic
Yet progress in things fraternal.
What is this ever-seeking
To make memorable this life,
To do right by all its creatures
That motivates my wife?
How blessed I am to have you
Occupying the same bubble
To hold and cherish as we age
If not stay out of trouble!
