Lockdown at the Ranch

(March 18, 2020)

Doors locked

for the boys on the Ranch. 

*

No visits 

for the boys on the Ranch. 

*

Shutdown complete

for the boys on the Ranch

*

The Ranch,

that place!

20 boys

20 problems

20 divided

from family,

or no family, at all.

*

In the middle of grassy lands

Wooded meadows

And rolling hills. 

Isolated.

Alone.

*

Troubled, angry,

scared,

they stay in dorms,

they stay inside

*

The virus,

that damn virus,

rages outside. 

*

But fear, 

that damn fear,

is contagious.

*

Staff lock doors,

visitors, not allowed. 

*

Rooms cleaned,

masks on,

social distancing a must.

*

Constant cleaning,

Constant wiping,

even the phone get wiped

after every use. 

*

Calls are scheduled and brief.

But visits aren’t. 

Physical self must

stay away.

And I'm kept at bay.

*

And I wonder where my boy is.

I haven’t seen him for weeks.

I haven’t talked to him for days. 

*

Drama reigns supreme

on the Ranch.

*

And my boy is somewhere

on the Ranch. 

*

I don’t think about 

how he got there. 

It doesn't matter.

*

I don’t think about 

About the incident at that point. 

It doesn't matter.

*

I think about him

Alone…

*

Among strangers,

among staff members,

among the specter 

of a deadly disease

that separates us. 

*

I yearn to hear his voice.

I wait to hold him again. 

I wish he’d be set free. 

*

But fate is cruel and mean.

On a father,

and his son

that wants to be

Reunited again.