First Day

 How do you say "I missed you" to a total stranger?

For over a year we have 

avoided one another's gaze

As if meeting eyes could somehow pose a risk 

of spreading viral particles

that could infect, poison, or kill us and

 No one 

would be the wiser.

Our faces have been halfway hidden

behind pieces of fabric -- 

decorated with patterns and vibrant colors 

to replace the missing blooms

 beneath --

All of us a patchwork of protection 

from the unseen danger,

wearing our unspoken wish that we should all live

and not

one more

die.

And now, a day after the announcement was released,

I walk outside with my face barer 

than a newly born 

Being

And breathe in the warm, sweetly scented air

of honeysuckle

and promise and hope and

Freedom like the rush of an ocean breeze through open car windows

down a highway.

I can smell the sunshine on the pavement.

***

Unexpectedly, our eyes meet as we pass --

nothing now obstructing our view of the upturned corners of our lips

that silently speak the words:

"It is so good 

To see your face."

This poem commemorates the first day I went outside without wearing a mask in over a year during the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to the announcement made by the CDC the day prior.