RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES
Final Tally
It’s not over but the death toll winds down
Soon we will not count the covid dead
Soon the dead will just be dead
And the final tally will be recorded
Over a million Americans
North of the Mexican border
More than half over the age of sixty-five
Disproportionate among the poor
Among the black and Latino
Among the native population
The tally is tragically low
Multiply by two or three or more
The unrecorded dead will outnumber
The recorded dead by a large margin
Yet do not fret for they were old
Do not long mourn for their
Remaining years were short
Do not look back with regret
For they were burdens on their families
Burdens on their friends and loved ones
Burdens on all society
We cannot say so now
We cannot say so tomorrow
But the day will come
When we dismiss our sorrow
With the knowledge that the dead
Were mostly old and feeble
They were of less value
That those who survived
In the final tally it is
Survival of the fittest
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