MARKET DAY

Old rules drew lines in sand:

the pub, now half the terrace

is no-go land for smokers

lest lungs be compromised

yet hang the social distancing.

 

Strategies concocted overnight,

Larkin's pessimism eclipsed,

made almost safe and innocent

by this dictator virus dealing

dystopias of fashionable masks.

 

Amidst confusion, market folk

are milling, bring goods to trade,

risk old school sales in person

but soon it will be mandatory

a mobile app to purchase drinks.

 

Poetry & Covid. October 2020. Editor Sam (?)