Love as Social Distance: #PoetryforLent 2

this will not be forever
our present normal
is temporal
social distancing
an act of loving kindness
to be disconnected
for a season
not out of fear
rather collective care
for those most vulnerable
in whose well-being
I find my own
this temporal pulling apart
for certain
must anticipate
dare to expect
the return of proximity
coming together again
so neighbor does not become
other
and our social distance
becomes implicit resistance
to you and me
separation normalized
forever