Saturday, July 11, 2020

Square One

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES



Square One

For a brief moment it seemed
We had it under control
We hunkered down
Sheltered in place
Recognized the threat
Protected our space

In a nightmare of misery
New York showed us the way
As our fellow citizens suffered
It was impossible to ignore
The harsh reality of pandemic
The bitter taste of death
Played out on our TV screens

Until our president stepped forward
To fight for the other side
(a side we did not know there was)
To challenge his supporters to defy
All means and measures of slowing
The viral cloud of destruction

Masks slowed the virus
Don’t wear a mask
A constitutional right
Distancing slowed the virus
To hell with distance
Open the bars and churches
Keep the meat plants running!

Everything that could be done
Was not done with relish
Even when the virus spread
Even when it spun out of control

Now we’re back to square one
And the president falls silent
Let’s move on now
And pretend it’s all a dream
We’ll snap our fingers
And make it go away
But it won’t go away
It will spread its deadly breath
Until a vaccine is ready
And another person sits
In the oval office


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