Systemic Failure

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Systemic Failure

The rich got richer

The working folks barely got by

The poor became hungry and homeless

Too many old folks had nowhere to die

Then the pandemic hit

Any poor man’s mechanic can tell you

When a machine begins to sputter

You’ve only got so many miles

You can rig it and wrap it in duct tape

But it won’t take many more trials

Then the pandemic hit

We had a problem with inequality

And elected a white supremacist

We failed to house the homeless

And chose a man who did not care

The oceans were already rising

So we sanctified poison air

We sacrificed healthcare and schools

By handing it over to fools

Then the pandemic hit

The problems of all humanity

Bordered on the end of days

We needed a bonafide savior

So we went the other way

Then the pandemic hit