A quiet spring in a town between cities

the town is all but abandoned as if it had died

yet somehow white and pink flowers have exploded on trees all around

green early buds hang on all the bushes

the sky is a soft blue as clouds go lazily about their way

nature is having a celebration while men, women and children hide indoors

or walk short distances in fearful small groupings of those with whom they are isolated

strange

yet in the long pull of human history not so out of the ordinary

we have known this for thousands of years

people running from the ravages of disease

that would lick their insides like taking a meal

and cause their guts to spill out

into graves of freshly dug earth

we have known this

but we denied blithely

fully ignorant of our mortality

we thought we were immune

the town is all but silent at times

especially in the evenings after meal time

everyone hides

this is the only time

in living memory

when your neighbor might kill you

just by saying hello