Catchy
Wear cotton masks where’er you go
stay miles away from strangers
Wash hands til they turn cracked and red
Report scofflaws to rangers
Raid grocers shelves at 6 am
make shopping trips a caper
Buy bread and milk and tuna fish
and lots of toilet paper
All warnings new
do make us blue
As we secure
the key
No need to sigh
and wonder why
This bug is too
catchy
* * * * *
That stifling scarf that shrouds your face
the distance – far away
Yet hands I held in summers past
I’ll hold again someday
A glass of wine is waiting here
a French baguette and brie
A starlit sky to please the eye
once you’ve returned me
All memories true
eclipse the blue
When I unlock
the key
No need to sigh
we both know why
Your love is too
catchy
(Lede photo:)
Anthony C. Hayes is an actor, author, raconteur, rapscallion and bon vivant. A one-time newsboy for the Evening Sun and professional presence at the Washington Herald, Tony’s poetry, photography, humor, and prose have also been featured in Smile, Hon, You’re in Baltimore!, Destination Maryland, Magic Octopus Magazine, Los Angeles Post-Examiner, Voice of Baltimore, SmartCEO, Alvarez Fiction, and Tales of Blood and Roses. If you notice that his work has been purloined, please let him know. As the Good Book says, “Thou shalt not steal.”