(A Pre-Covid Piece)

Commuting yesterday, at nearly noon,
I noticed I felt free and oddly fine.
I focused on surroundings then, and soon
observed that every vista seemed benign.
Though weather’s weird, the air was warm and clear.
Though politics are dire, I’d no fret.
Nobody smelled too bad or stood too near
me on the street and train. I felt no threat.

It isn’t that I’m normally afraid
of where I walk, or whom I chance to meet,
but yesterday’s experiences made
me realize how much guarded on my feet
I am, how when outside I’m on alert.
I traveled with no threat or fear of hurt.