Distance can / Distort our deepest / Sense / Of who / We are . . .
-- Speaker (Arborescent I)

Importance: In "Arborescent I," the speaker compares communities of people to trees. She uses this metaphor in order to underscore the importance of connection and communication amongst groups of people. In these lines, she is therefore considering the ways in which the pandemic and the lockdown created isolation and separation. While social distancing and quarantining were necessary, these measures complicated individuals' understandings of themselves. The lines contribute to the author's explorations regarding isolation and loneliness, unity and togetherness.

Our mask is no veil, but a view. / What are we, if not what we see in another.
-- Speaker (There's No Power Like Home)

Importance: In "There's No Power Like Home," the author furthers her explorations concerning unity via repeated references to the pandemic. In these lines, she is using the image of the masks worn during the pandemic as a way to symbolize connection, compassion, and empathy. Although the...