Plague Poems – The Fifth Week

There are many things
I miss about how life
was before the plague

The simple pleasures of
a meal at a restaurant
a concert in a crowded hall
embracing close friends

Yet of the many things
I miss about how life
was before the plague
what I miss most
is having hope

When they throw you
to the wolves
do not allow yourself
to be consumed by
despair.

For wolves are more
human
than those who
threw you
into their maws.

Take comfort
dear friend
in the knowledge that this
too shall pass

No disaster lasts
forever
a day comes when
the storm dissipates
the ground stops shaking
the hospitals empty

Yes, this will not last,
and the horrors which
come next
they too will not last
forever

Adversity
it is said
builds character
in those who
experience it

Perhaps
that is true
but it also
leaves scars

Editorial Note: This is a collection of Plague Poems written between April 12, 2020 and April 18, 2020.

They were initially posted online on Twitter at @plaguepoems

Throughout the duration of this crisis new poems will be posted regularly at that Twitter account, they will then be collected and reposted here in weekly increments.

When you are again allowed
to walk free
will you still tie a mask
around your face?

And if you answer that
of course you will
still tie a mask around
your face
can you truly say that you
are walking free?

After this plague passes
we shall still be left
with the sicknesses
that plagued us
before.

According to our
leaders
it is imperative
that we reopen
the economy
with all possible
haste

For our noble leaders
would much prefer
to put us
at the mercy
of the economy
than be expected to
show us mercy

We sit in isolation
tapping on our
keyboards
dreaming
of the day when
we will be
sitting in isolation
tapping on our
keyboards not because
we must
but because
it is what we have
chosen.

The garbage bags that pile up
in front of your home
have never been a
pleasant
sight to behold.

When they disappeared
from your door
in the past
you thought little
and gave no
thanks.

But when they vanish
today
you will be heartened by
this kind reminder
of normalcy.

In another life
I was happy
to sit
alone
with only a book
and my thoughts
for company.

But
in this life
much that once
brought me
pleasure
now leaves me
a wretched husk.

When my twelve hundred dollars
arrives
my problems will fade away

I’ll take that twelve hundred dollars
in hand
and no more feel dismay.

Twelve hundred dollars is a
huge sum
on many things it can be spent

Alas, twelve hundred dollars
is not enough
to even cover my rent.

Those who think
the hungry
will be satiated with
twelve hundred dollars
do not truly
understand
just how famished
the hungry ones are.

Those who think
the angry
will be calmed by
twelve hundred dollars
do not truly
understand
just how enraged
the angry ones are.

Begin your day
by going to
your window.

Open your curtains
take in
the shining sun
the blue sky
the flowering trees
the flying birds

There is much
bad news
awaiting you
but first
look
at the sky.

When I saw how
the ranks
of the unemployed
had swelled
I felt ashamed to
still
be drawing a regular
paycheck.

It is not that
they think
we are
worthless
but that
they think
we are
not
worth more
than twelve
hundred dollars.

Oh, the two and twenty million
our leaders will not save.

How dare they ask for more than what
our leaders already gave.

Be satisfied don’t ask for more
be content with this thin crust!

Oh, you two and twenty million
they think that you are dust.

From a comfortable
perch
of safety and prosperity
it is easy to mock
as coddled
those who have just seen
their futures
hauled away in the
plague cart.

It seems as though
years have passed
since the news
broke
that two and twenty
million
have lost their
employment.

But if you are able
to so easily
move on
from that
news
you must not be
a member of that
two and twenty million.

Many a student reacts with
shock
upon learning how
in their
great grandparents time
farmers destroyed
crops
even as millions
starved.

When the great grandchildren
of these students
learn of what is
happening
even as millions starve
today
they too will
be shocked.

If you
become
accustomed
to disasters.

You learn to
expect every
crash
and quake.

It’s so easy
to imagine
the train
derailing.

Once you’ve
forgotten
its emergency
brake.

Plague Poems…the previous week

Plague Poems…the next week

Plague Poems – The First Week

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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