“Writing the Apocalypse” is a weekly series featuring the poems, essays, and recollections of Puma Perl, with subject matter influenced by her experiences as a NYC resident during the COVID-19 pandemic.

How Do You Say Goodbye? | By Puma Perl 

They sat at a small red table

on the edge of Chinatown,

drinking overpriced coffee,

the dog curled up beneath

their chairs, resting her

paws across their feet.

Talked about how the end

of the world might feel

if you were just 15.

Maybe it would be like

a roller coaster, no school,

no homework, no way

to stop in the middle,

no chance to change your mind.

Two hours passed.

They’d ignored the rain

but it began to come down

in earnest, so they pulled up

their masks, stood under a tree,

trying to figure out how to leave.

They didn’t want to return

to their solitary lives,

but the rain drove them apart.

Neither of them had umbrellas,

although he wore a hat.

He always wore a hat.

What do you do with your hands,

she wondered, what do you do

with your body without hugging?

How do you say goodbye?

Do you remember your last hug?

he asked. Neither of them could.

And then he opened his arms

and she stepped in, and,

for one moment, all was right,

all was hopeful, and they smiled

behind their masks, and went

along on their separate ways.

© puma perl, 08/17/2020

Puma Perl is a poet and writer, with five solo collections in print. The most recent is Birthdays Before and After (Beyond Baroque Books, 2019.) She is the producer/creator of Puma’s Pandemonium, which brings spoken word together with rock and roll, and she performs regularly with her band Puma Perl and Friends. She’s received three New York Press Association awards in recognition of her journalism, and is the recipient of the 2016 Acker Award in the category of writing. Her most recent books can be found by clicking here.

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