I try not to touch my face while shopping

at a crowded Costco. I'm lucky to still have a job,

to afford food and rent in the most expensive place

in the world to buy toilet paper. Today, the governor

issued a work‐from‐home order. Community spread,

panic. Yet thousands of tourists continue arriving

aboard cheap flights and cruise ships—reservoirs

of disease. Not even a pandemic can shutdown

paradise. Then I fill my car at the gas station,

pick up my daughter's prescription pills and asthma

inhaler at the pharmacy. I sanitize my hands after every

errand. When I return home, my wife and daughter

are playing dress‐up. CNN echoes on the television

(‘250,000 cases worldwide’). I put away the groceries

in the pantry and fridge (‘10,000 deaths’). Freeze

enough meat to last a month (‘bats and pangolins

butchered’). Disinfect handles and doorknobs (‘habitats

destroyed’). My mom calls. Cough, sore throat—

“Just allergies,” she reassures. ‘It's cold in California.’

I ask about grandma (92‐years‐old, dementia).

‘Her care home is quarantined,’ she answers. ‘If

she dies, we aren't allowed to have a funeral service.’

Yet isn't grieving together our most essential business?

‘Tomorrow, I'll visit her,’ my mom continues. ‘Wave

through the window.’ I feel an ocean length apart

(‘rising like an invisible tide’). My daughter falls asleep

on the couch: her body curls like a flattened curve.

My wife takes her temperature: 99.5 degrees.

How long can we shelter‐in‐place? How long can we

shelter each other in a world where children can't play

with friends at school, where elders can't breathe

without ventilators, where we can't touch without fear?

How long can we shelter a planet where there's no

vaccine for the virulent outbreaks of human greed

and violence? ‘I want to hug my grandkids,’ my mom

sighs, no longer able to hold our tears at a safe distance.

购物时尽量不要碰我的脸

在拥挤的好市多。我很幸运还能找到工作

在最昂贵的地方负担食物和租金

在世界上买厕纸。今天的州长

下达了在家工作的订单。社区传播，

恐慌。然而成千上万的游客继续到达

廉价航班和游轮上的水库

疾病。Ñ加时赛甚至大流行罐关闭

天堂。然后我在加油站加油，

拿起我女儿的处方药和哮喘

药房吸入器。我每次都洗手

差事。当我回到家，我的妻子和女儿

在打扮。CNN在电视上回声

（“全球250,000个案例”）。我收拾杂货

在食品储藏室和冰箱中（“ 10,000人死亡”）。冻结

足够维持一个月的肉食（'蝙蝠和穿山甲

屠宰”）。消毒把手和门把手（'栖息地

销毁”）。我妈妈打电话。咳嗽，嗓子疼

她保证说：“只是过敏。” “加利福尼亚很冷。”

我问奶奶（92岁，痴呆症）。

她回答说：“她的护理院已被隔离。” '如果

她死了，我们不允许去葬礼。”

但是，难道不是让我们最重要的业务在一起吗？

“明天，我去看望她。”我的妈妈继续说道。'波

通过窗户。我感到海洋分开了

（“如潮水般上涨”）。我女儿睡着了

在沙发上：她的身体像弯曲的曲线一样卷曲。

我妻子的体温为99.5度。

我们可以安置多久？我们能走多久

在一个孩子们不能玩的世界里互相庇护

与学校里长辈无法呼吸的朋友一起

如果没有呼吸机，那我们不用害怕就不能触摸吗？

我们可以庇护一个没有行星的星球多久

用于人类贪婪暴发的疫苗

和暴力？我妈妈要抱抱孙子孙女

叹了口气，不再能够将我们的眼泪保持在安全的距离。