masks off: a poem

tentatively 

removed 

tentative because 

who knows when they’ll be back

maybe in a week

maybe in the fall

maybe for the next variant 

maybe for the next pandemic 

or maybe never 

we dream that maybe 

this will all be a story 

we tell our grandkids 

of the days when faces were dangerous 

but who knows 

who knows whether 2022 

is the end or the beginning 

who knows whether masks 

will be accessories or artifacts 

who knows 

one thing I know for certain 

I will never take for granted 

sharing little smiles 

with strangers