The pale muscles
of young men
blameless in the sun
On the first warm day of spring, everyone used to be out in Central Park. Alone or in twos or threes, they stretched out cramped limbs on the Great Lawn, the men gladly taking off their shirts. The college man, having worked hard on his body the whole winter, threw a football to his equally muscular mate with a Tracy Bacon swagger that did the heart good to see. Even the pandemics could not keep them away, not permanently. They returned to showing off after the lockdowns had been lifted. Not anymore.
