How I Remember Loneliness

Don't lose yourself

when the world is at a loss,

they said.

Simply stay six feet apart

and don't ever forget your mask!

You don't want to cough up

something nasty,

they croak.

Now that it's over,

I look back at my extra masks

and worry something got on them-

and that if I touch it, 

the memory of sickness

will infect me

once again.

But never will I throw them away.

They mean too much.