In today

the past and future meet and mix

in a cacophony of 

tethered remembrances and high flying dreams. 

 

A crowded past

Jams in with a distanced future.

 

What is the etiquette when past and future collide?

Stand back?

Too close?

Longed for hugs?

Masked?

Unmasked?

(What's hidden behind the mask? 

What's hidden in plain sight?)

A past of shared meals of laughs and wine

tangle with a future of separate tables

and distanced community

yearning to reunite. 

A muddle of tradition

now without a shared cup

or broken bread.

A past of singing

tumbled out of a future of muted praise

 

One anxious step out the door

two back to safety.

One joyous leap outside, 

lockdown forgotten.

 

A shared past.

A divided future.

Lord of today,

meet us in the snarl of uncertainty

beat that sword into a ploughshare 

sow those seeds for a future we can all feed upon.