Answer:

Sheltered in Place

BY RICHARD LEVINE

You watch your boy struggle with giving

up the turtle, returning it to the pond

where he’d found it on a walk—

first time you’d all been out in days.

How thoughtful he thought he’d been,

making it a home in the home

where the family sheltered in place.

How he cared for his armored friend.

Having picked flowers, knowing they’d die,

you understand the urge to pluck

the exotic, the beautiful—any diversion

from fear, which is in itself a disease.

That morning, you helped your boy

give up the idea of living forever.