the students are
leaving now.
to homes where they
can never,
ever
concentrate.
homes where
their grandmother died.
they were abused.
they starved.
they punched holes
in the walls
and rattled
the ceiling beams
and the ceiling beams
are still shaking.
college is a chance
to reinvent yourself.
that’s the line
that brought me here.
a pandemic is
a time when
inventions fail.
hordes of automatons
fighting molecules
tinier than
blood cells.
the virus wins.
the virus
always
wins.