Musicians, filmmakers, writers
never felt more important and wanted
than in the times I spent
strictly indoors, with the pandemic lingering outdoors.

The quarantine revealed their worth
for how traumatic it’d have been
to be locked inside a room with
the fear of a miniscule malignant virus.

Some people seem so normal
so in place, that we take them for granted
until we are forced to know
they are not.

Those people are like salt –
their presence isn’t felt
but their absence
can bring you to a halt.

© Barnadhya Rwitam