My ex-husband
is living in Chicago.
He looks disheveled when
I use technology to call: There he is
appearing suddenly on my screen:
his hair thin and gray
his face ashy. His eyes blurry
with sleep –even though
it is 5:00 p.m. The governor
has just announced a lock-down, or
stay in, or whatever it is they want
to call it. My ex-husband
on some mornings
cannot bring himself to
get out of bed. I tell him to call
his sister in Lincoln, to get out
to go away, don’t stay in the city
where there are too many people, where
every time you step out of your door
someone is backing away