When We Meet Unexpectedly
by Sarah Marquez

 

One afternoon, I bump into a neighbor

on the road by my house, walking his dogs.

We nod and say hello, but there are no rules

for what comes next. No X’s on the ground

to keep us separate, no overhead voice to tell

us we must social distance even as we stop,

no second facemask to prevent pollen from

going straight to my lungs. I could be the end

of his day, the bad omen, that sends him back

into isolation. Or share with him the first peach

of May. What delight. What soft fuzz. What

sweetness. The barking of the dogs guarding

his feet strikes like a gong. We are too close,

too at ease. And there is no one to forgive us.

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Image  Stuart M Buck

Sarah Marquez (she/her) is an MA candidate at National University. She is based in Los Angeles and has work published and forthcoming in various magazines and journals, including Human/Kind Journal and Press, Kissing Dynamite, The Sandy River Review and Twist in Time Magazine. When not writing, she can be found reading, sipping coffee, or tweeting @Sarahmarissa338.