What lives
in the world
beyond
our home, our shield
from the dangerous air
outside

In the balcony across the street
there is an appliance
partly covered in a sheet.

Could it function
If the owner
could get to it?

For hours
I watch the street
to see people
passing by
wearing masks.

They have tasks
I am not allowed
To complete.

In the movies on television -
My frame to the past -
people touch one another,
lean together, speak intimately,
kiss, as if
it were natural
the only way to live

What I want to know
Is what
is beyond
what I can see
from my window.