“fabric masks are apparently worthless (but I won’t throw this one away)”

I’m emotionally attached to my fabric face mask,

which is themed around the character Vi from Arcane: League of Legends.

(the Vi mask saw me through

trips to the grocery store

where no one followed the one-way arrows on the floor,

with empty shelves where toilet paper and Lysol spray should be.)

when the CDC first recommended masks

and it felt like I couldn’t breathe

(though I wore them anyway, for the good of the people),

I never would have thought I could

bond with one.

(the Vi mask saw me through

micro-weddings and

drive-by birthday parties and

canceled proms and

waving at grandparents through windows.)

I got used to the way the mask felt on my face—

the notch of the nose wire and the tug of the elastics.

it still steamed up my glasses,

but I didn’t mind so much

because I was doing my part to keep others safe.

(the Vi mask saw me through

the mandated return to the office

in the middle of the pandemic,

when people were still dying all around me

but corporations cared more about “wasted space.”)

it came out recently that fabric masks are

ineffective

against Covid.

so I wasn’t helping anyone all that much, it turns out.

I switched to the plain white disposable N95 masks—

but I tucked the Vi mask into my driver’s-side door,

just in case,

but mostly because I couldn’t bear to throw it out.

(the Vi mask saw me through.)