Evening Walk

In this place of quiet comfort,
tree lined streets, azalea bushes, manicured lawns,
ranch, cape cod, dutch colonial,
this-and-that revival style homes,
it is difficult to imagine
overwhelmed hospitals
sorting the soon-to-be dead
storing the deceased in converted ice-trucks,
makeshift-morgues.
On this peaceful perfect evening,
72 and sunny,
taking a stroll with family,
letting the dog sniff here and there
as babies nap in stroller comfort,
it is impossible to pair experience
with knowledge.
Our small slice of the universe,
peaceful, calm, a neighbor serenades
us with an old Kenny Rogers’ tune
as the world breaks even
and dies in its sleep.