a poem in my pocket

isolation
frays nerves
as relationship
thins

separation
fractures hearts
so socially dis-
tanced

emotion
roils beneath
an obfuscating
mask

frustration
muddles mind
in ubiquitous
protocol

expectation
within withers
when hope dis-
appoints

Incredulously, I may not visit my 87-year-old father as he struggles with Covid-19.  It seems the protocols are as deadly as the pandemic as many elderly have suffered from the fallout as much as the disease.