there is a jet taking off
and another one landing
a car horn honks…once
a bus pulls away from the stop
to roll past my window
the hydraulics, spit, hiss and squeal
there is a steady beep, sounding
the alarm from a heavy vehicle
down the street
work crews on Bryant Avenue
my windows are open
there are birds talking
in sharp clicks and soft trills
the chatter of ornithoids
rising and falling
between the whining waves
of mechanical clatter
the air is crisp
flowing
through my
open
window
squirrels
cracking jokes
scrambling
for acorns
in the
morning
robin silhouetted
against
the silver sky
watching
from
the leafless maple
there is a plane overhead
departing…I would guess
by the accelerating whine
of the turbine engines
filling the sky for miles and miles
that slips through the cracks
of my windows
waves of sound smashing
against the bricks of my building
tickling my inner ear
as the aluminum tube goes
jetting away
warm in February, though
it is
cooler than it has been
today a
stiff wind has risen
it slaps
against my window
with a rattle
the sky is gray
dry air in the apartment is chaffing my skin
the fan inside my computer is making a noise
as if it does not want to be used anymore
my head hurts and my throat is soar
I don’t want to be used either
by this virus that has claimed me as a host
been coughing for days but my fever has broke
I have COVID and I’m staying home
