I feel the walls going up.
Plastic shields at the pharmacy
and grocery check-out.
Dots marking six feet
between customers.
Masks covering faces.
*
In this confusing world
I find myself asking,
“Where did all the smiles go?”
*
And I’m determined to climb
these walls
the only way I know how:
*
By looking up instead of down.
By meeting your gaze.
By smiling at you with my eyes.
Katie Faris 