/ Social Distancing

People avoid me when they see the cane. They cross the road as I approach, flatten themselves against railings, hide behind trees. I tap along the shaded pavement by the bus stop and parents pull their children close, shushing protest, gathering bags.

Now everyone is using a cane. On the way into Camberwell I see a man cross the road to avoid a masked woman. A hard-hatted builder waits behind a parked car as a couple walk past, nodding thanks. In the pharmacy we queue for our prescriptions two metres apart, strung out like islands on the white-tiled floor.