In this strange world we now inhabit

In this strange world we now inhabit
in this unimaginable time
when the world has stopped
and broken

When normal is no more
when new patterns form
and new habits take hold
I wonder about the shape
of the worlds to come

carried by the winds of biology
and the wisdom and whims of our leaders

I wonder

Will we return to what was before?
Or as some would have it
to what was before even that?

Or will we allow new thoughts,
new worlds to arise
in this unique moment,
when the stage is bare

As they sometimes arrive
when we sleep or dream
or sit with our breath
or walk empty headed
through gentle breezes
under an azure sky?

Who will we choose to be
as the new normal takes root
in the fertile soil of the new normal
of this anything but normal
moment?

What worlds will we will
and speak into being
in this rare moment
when the stage is bare?

Will we remember that we are one
biology, one
planet, one
experiment?

Will we shape our lives,
our businesses,
our economy
in the tender and unforgiving grip
of that reality?

What moves will we make
now, in this open moment,
to plant the seeds
of the worlds
we want,
of the world
to come?

When the stage is bare

-Gil Friend, 5 April 2020
(With gratitude to Tyrone Cashman)