14-Day Future

From Robert Lee Brewer's blog, Poetic Asides, "For today's prompt, write a future poem."

Our 14-Day Future

Our future is determined

14 days in our past, but

how do we atone for those sins

with thousands dying today?

If I traveled back in time

would I recognize the moment

that transferred an illness

and brought a city to its knees?

Or, would I be too busy

finding the best tomatoes to notice?

Poet's Note: It's getting hard to remember what life was like two weeks ago, before the empty shelves and rationing of toilet paper, before security guards instructed you to sanitize your hands as you entered a store, and large arrows on the floor marked the only way through the labyrinth of groceries. We used to call it shopping. Now, it's just one more anxiety-inducing task that must be performed in a hurried state, all the while keeping six feet of distance between yourself and others.