early isolation
for medical reasons
narrow corridor
neighbour advances smiling
I smile and turn my head away
and explain with an elbow bump
towards where I think she is
she’s long gone
I knock on her door
stand two meters back
door opens then slams
sigh – just one more fence
to mend when it’s over
a walk outdoors
someone coming
I swerve onto grass
namaste to a blank look
try Japanese bow
she laughs
we talk across space
a new friend made
two weeks later
the nation joins us
how great the relief
of mentoring others
and still the time s t r e t c h e s a h e a d
© Karen Peterson Butterworth
(Reprinted from Kapiti Libraries' website posting with their kind permission.)
Photo by Evgeni Tcherkasski on Unsplash
