Laid low for three weeks,
nothing coming in the way of words,
barely able to hydrate:
some flu caught in a roomful
of hacking attendees
at the lecture Common Birds of Tampa Bay.
 
I could make the joke
that the common bird flew,
but with the ache in my bones
it would hurt to laugh

No matter
that my kith and kin
are scattered hither and yon,
today I’m able enough to write
so time will never fly by as quick:

clocks seem to have flown up
an hour
all on their own