Today's Timerick.

 

To work in shared locations

in cities big and bright

was once the dream of millions --

you might say a birthright.

But then the COVID virus

did trap us all at home

to work online forever

and nevermore to roam.

At first the workers fretted

and thought the setup vain;

they didn't get their work done --

their bosses were a pain.

Now company directors

are loath to push too hard

to place employee bases

back in their own backyard.

Infection rates are soaring;

so workers stay secure

in basement or in kitchen

until there is a cure.

And so big cities dwindle

as people move on out

to live and work in suburbs

(and maybe fish for trout!)

The eateries and taverns

are giving up the ghost,

as workers use their Crockpot

to make their own pot roast.

Nobody takes the buses;

nobody takes the trains.

So trams just sit decaying

in quiet empty lanes.

With office rentals waning

portfolios have flopped

and even active tenants

have rental payments stopped.

New York and San Francisco,

Detroit and spry Dubuque,

are turning into ghost towns --

an optimist's rebuke.

A crystal ball might show us

a future that is bleak

for burgs that once were mighty,

with commerce at its peak.

Perhaps like ancient Carthage

they'll be plowed up for spots

where cabbages will flourish

and peasants dance gavottes.