Distance Education

Michele Witthaus

In school plays of long ago,

we had to look

for gaffer-taped crosses

placing the actors

in just the right spot.

Confusion arose

due to the vestiges

of previous instructions,

faint traces of

chalk or paint

on the wood

of a well-trodden stage.

Now, taped crosses

divide the space

in supermarkets

and all those places where

the show must go on

and people try hard

to stick to a script

they barely understand,

while children file back

to stage-set schools

with bright new lines

to keep them in place

for the length of the drama

known as ‘Covid-19’.