a long journey

“That’s not terrifying at all” the stranger muttered to no one in particular.
I unwrapped the N95, red in the face, not knowing how to finagle the horizontal straps. Pinched
nose and wrinkled eyelids
The one my mom mailed me—early March 2020, a watershed moment
In the airport bathroom, automatic sink automatically still running.
I felt contagious
Took it off twelve hours later, lines visible on my youth
Still waiting for them to fade