Sheila's Dribs 'n Drabs

A long time ago In a galaxy far far away In a time just after one war Before another He grew up, just in time To fight And lived. In my galaxy far far away I remember and wish I understood the way from there To here; His war so far away from this His fear, and yet he knew the way And paid His price so dear. For that galaxy far far away As space and continents And prison walls to isolate His time to now His war to this His home, his dreams, Dad this Seems a very strange time to remember A hundred years A long time ago.

It’s a new world here On the empty street Where squirrels meet No fear of cars to greet A new world here On an empty screen With a virtual meet Where friends are far away As strangers here And the virus feared Might be all too near And zap the computer first.

It was only a tiny hole in the fence but my puppy escaped and was killed on the road through that hole and I wished I’d asked Dad would he fix it before it could happen— always too late. It was only a tiny flame on the tip of the firework that flew the great gorge where the wild winds blew and fire raged and he wished he’d played something different that day but it’s always too late. It was only a quick cup of coffee me closer to you and to somebody else just a few strangers too close till somebody close found the beds were all full and there weren’t any masks and the doctors were ill and we wished we’d skipped coffee perhaps and perhaps it’s not yet too late. And the fire burned out and the new dog was sweet and coffee was served with some treats at the funeral.

Plague has emptied sacred sites while shoppers prey and fill the empty aisles.