As life as we knew it crashed to a halt due to COVID-19 in March 2020, all non-essential businesses closed, schoolchildren shifted to remote learning, and we all shifted to lives of relative isolation. It wasn't all roses and rainbows, but I cherished the opportunity to write. Poetry gushed forth, let loose by the daily news, our conflicts du jour, my hike-inspired reflections. We all have our own voices, our own pandemic stories to share. Though I was not a frontline worker at a hard-hit hospital, nor witness to a loved one's death from the virus, I have my own perspective to share.

This collection showcases the authenticity of pausing our harried lives, letting ourselves deal with necessity, but also letting our hearts and souls digest the virus, the social unrest/injustice, the politics, all the crazy of the world along with a healthy dose of stillness, self-reflection, and quasi-philosophical consideration of the bigger picture, the greater humanity. Even when the pandemic passes, jobs and economies rebound, schools resume 'normal' operations, may we please remember to appreciate all that surrounds us that is good. We can rise above the pandemic madness and be the best humankind we can be.