City Park, Denver

City Park is busy. There are families picnicking on the grass and people walking their dogs and toddlers before dinner. A little boy puts his toy boat into the lake, his brown hands checking the connection of the sail to the mast. He turns to his mom, “Okay to put it in now, Mom?” She pushes her blonde hair out of her face and smiles, maybe a little tired, “It’s okay now, buddy.”

A couple sits down under the tree next to mine. Both white haired and blue masked. He has music playing from this phone. The screen is cracked but the sound is clear. Wise men say only fools rush in

The paddleboat rental is open and swan boats the size of a 1960 Beetle cabriolet drift across the water. The people powering them puff as they pedal. Maybe coronavirus can’t live inside swans. Shall I stay would it be a sin?

A family of seven talks to the man renting the swans. The oldest child translates for his father. They look like they’ve just come from a marriage or a funeral. The little girls’ hair is braided tight and the little boy has on shoes so clean it must be on purpose. (Well, my children’s shoes are only that clean when they are stepping into a wedding or a wake.) The family turns away after a bit. Maybe they can’t afford the rental fee, it’s expensive for a large family at $11 an hour per adult and $6 per child. I can treat them if I charge it, so I get up to pay for their…