Plague Poems – The Two-Hundred-and-Twenty-First Week

Please, do not worry,
though it is behind a mask
I promise you
that I have not forgotten
how to smile
yes, I know, I know,
I need to find joy
but right now I am busy
trying to find my way
through this pandemic.

Be careful with your words
if you throw around
a term like “disaster”
people will just accuse you
of crying wolf
please, be careful,
don’t say “it’s a disaster”
please, be specific,
say: the Governor of Iowa
has declared a disaster
in Cherokee County
due to an avian flu outbreak.

Citing recent studies
pointing to a link
between the virus
and cognitive decline
the headline stated
“COVID-10 will make you
stupid”
and while the danger
of cognitive decline is serious
I am more concerned
with how this pandemic
has made so many of us
cruel.

My brother-in-law
sent me an opinion piece
(from the paper of record)
offering five points
purportedly showing
how the pandemic
started in a laboratory,
so I asked him
what steps he was taking
to protect himself
from this lab escapee,
and I could tell
he did not like my question.

Editorial Note: This is a collection of Plague Poems written between June 1, 2024 and June 7, 2024.

They were initially posted online on X/Twitter at @plaguepoems, on Mastodon at @plaguepoems@mastodon.social, on Bluesky at @plaguepoems, on Threads at @plague_poems, and on Instagram at @plague_poems.

Throughout the duration of this crisis new poems will be posted regularly at the above mentioned accounts, they will then be collected and reposted here as weekly compendiums.

When they tell you
(and they will tell you)
that trying to protect yourself
is just a waste of time
politely explain
that the wastewater data
from several states
shows virus concentrations
are again on the rise
and you don’t want to add
to that waste at this time.

Take the good news
when you can get it,
the CDC data
shows cases and deaths
are currently low
so allow yourself
some guarded hope,
you must take the good news
when you can get it,
for soon you’ll remember
that since May
hospitals no longer need
to report COVID data to the CDC.

A “massive outbreak”
of avian influenza
amongst elephant seals
(in Peninsula Valdes, Argentina)
is seen as increased evidence
that transmission can occur
from mammal-to-mammal
and though this does not mean
mammal-to-human
or human-to human
it doesn’t mean
that everything is fine.

It is not so much
that everyone has forgotten
how COVID harms people
and how COVID kills people
as that we tell ourselves
and keep telling ourselves
that COVID harms other people
and that COVID kills other people
while forgetting that we
are the other people
of someone else.

I have heard that house mice
have contracted avian influenza
and while I know
the risk to humans
remains low
I will admit I am quite concerned
for you see
I haven’t known many people
with cows or chickens
but I’ve known many people
who’ve found mice in their homes.

Speaking of the effort
to stop the spread of H5N1
the official stated
“We are trying
to essentially corner the virus”
isolating it in infected herds
until it dissipates,
and though I hope this works
I keep seeing headlines
about how this virus
isn’t isolated to infected herds.

I asked my aunt, the doctor,
about the research
saying the “virus
that causes COVID-19
can remain in sperm
for 110 days after infection”
so those “who plan to have children
should observe
a period of ‘quarantine’
after recovering”
and she simply replied:
that’s bad fucking news.

Please, do not panic
in response to the news
that a person in Mexico
has died of H5N2
for there are many things
there are many vital things
that we still do not know,
unfortunately, at this point,
that we lack the cohesion
to weather another pandemic
is something we do know.

He tells me he isn’t worried
about another pandemic
after all, he’s survived one pandemic
so he’s confident
he can survive another one
and I can’t decide
whether to remind him
of those who did not survive
or to remind him
that he hasn’t finished surviving
the current one yet.

It was always inaccurate
to say of the current pandemic
that people are dying
like medieval peasants
for the current pandemic
is not rodent-borne,
but now that avian influenza
has been detected in mice
I fear we may yet get the chance
to die like medieval peasants.

Forgive me, I do not mean
to romanticize the past
but, I must admit, I miss the days
when “summer wave”
denoted a trip to the beach
and not the latest variant.

If they say
only the chickens get sick
warn them:
not to count their eggs
before they hatch.

If they say
only the cattle get sick
warn them:
if you mess with the bull
you get the horns.

If they say
only the mice get sick
warn them:
the best laid plans
of mice and men go awry.

I asked my cousin
if her husband was feeling better
but she couldn’t remember
what she had tole me
was it the pink eye?
or the summer cold?
was it the flu case?
or the walking pneumonia?
“we’re always all fucked up”
she said, and all I could say
was: I hope he feels better soon.

You are right, I agree,
masks can be uncomfortable
but I have experienced
the horrid discomfort
that this virus can cause
so if given the choice between
an uncomfortable mask
an an uncomfortable virus
I will choose the mask.

When it comes to disguising a face
a new study shows
that sunglasses
are more effective than
a medical mask,
but you need not worry
about attempts to ban sunglasses
no one wants to stop you
from trying to look cool
they only want to stop you
from looking out for other people.

I wish I knew
how to convince you
that you should care
about the cattle
with avian influenza
that were slaughtered
but I don’t even know
how to convince you
that you should care
when human beings
are being slaughtered.

Plague Poems…the following week

Plague Poems…the first week

Plague Poems…the full list

About Z.M.L

“I do not believe that things will turn out well, but the idea that they might is of decisive importance.” – Max Horkheimer librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com @libshipwreck

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