HELFWORKS

Red Sky

"Red sky at night, sailors delight."

A rich orange, red, and magenta sunset animates the sky that recently presided dully over bleak winter streets. The city had been ugly with the discards of pandemic life: trash on sidewalks hemmed by the metal grates of defeated businesses. Passersby cloaked in chilly detachment. Abandoned restaurant sheds lined the street gutters, defaced by graffiti and squatters. Shanytown.

Warm weather changes that. Yellow Cornelian and pink cherry trees bloom in full as emerging green fringes the stark branches of the elms. People have returned to the streets in droves. Musicians are performing at popular gathering spots throughout the park: jazz band, poignant blues, classical guitar, slide guitar, Beatles covers, fusion rock. On the corner, the inordinate blare of recorded classic rock attracts diners and drinkers to the sheds that form the most publicly visible social life in the age of the coronavirus.

The world reawakens, but thankfully, outside the sheds, both the old and the young are still wearing masks. Likewise, my pleasure and expectation of Spring are tempered by caution. Although I'll soon be fully vaccinated, I won't yet be dining at restaurants. I'm taking direction from the captains.

"Red sky at morning, sailors take warning."