God, each of us knows
a modern-day Simon of Cyrene
who carries this year’s cross
in direct service
to those who are ill,
and each of us tries
to sit pieta,
that we call shelter-in-place,
holding on fragile knees
the brokenness of beloveds —
in loneliness,
so many kinds of loss,
fear of the future.
This year we understand
what it is
to have the fabric of our lives
torn from end to end.
Wonderful image.