Look for the Silver Lining

By Nancy Levinson

PROMPT—During Covid-19 ...

even if it’s but a glint

a splash of rainbow

painted on a window

a DIY covid pinata

you can kill with a stick

Can I temper my mood

hosting a dance party for one

folding a newspaper hat

cooking Farro e Pepe

or Harissa Shakshuka with Chickpeas

Can I gleefully wave to neighbors

in a backyard wading pool

creating cruise-ship family time

or take comfort starting a hobby

turning trash into home treasures

Can I drink in the noon day’s sun

walking past breathing bodies

sheltered under recessed store fronts

doors locked with metal fists shops

dark as midnight ghost town left to die

Can I stretch a smile hum with fading faith

stumbling eyes fogged mouth seared

across this land and its humanity

scorched with hot lava Tell me

where breathes the promise the silver glint

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Nancy Levinson is author of MOMENTS OF DAWN: A Poetic Memoir of Love & Family, Affliction & Affirmation, as well as work that has appeared in Poetica, Voice of Eve, Panoplyzine, The Copperfield Review, many anthologies, and elsewhere.