Lift-Off Poem by Bert Bell

daffodils broke ground today
like rockets lifting
off for outer space, and they brought

forth in me a sense of joy
that all's not lost,
for even if this dreaded virus

were to end my future hopes,
and it may well— the splendor of the garden
will remain intact to bloom

again, and april fools' day came and disappeared
this year into the gloom corona brings
without a morning prank to bring a smile, or paper

fishes on the backs of passers-by—
no not this year, though that is not to say
we shouldn't hope all will be well.