Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Fiftieth Week

No one really cares
if you are afraid
just so long, that is,
as you keep it to yourself
if frightened you may be pitied
but mainly you will be ignored,
they only start deriding you
as a fearmonger
if you dare to remind them
that on some level
they are frightened too.

*

“And I think we–
I sometimes underestimate it
because I stopped
thinking about it,
but I’m sure you don’t:
We lost 1–
over 1 million people
in several years to COVID”
while I suspected
the President
like so many others had
stopped thinking about it
how sad to hear him admit it.

*

Considering the precautions
insisted upon by
the wealth and well-connected
at their recent alpine gathering
it is quite clear that they believe
they are still in this
together
however their together
does not include you or I.

*

Labels such as
doomer and fearmonger
tell you remarkably little
about the beliefs of those
labeled as such
though they do provide
an opportunity
to learn a great deal
about the beliefs of those
bestowing those labels.

*

Editorial Note: This is a collection of Plague Poems written between January 21, 2023 and January 27, 2023.

They were initially posted online on Twitter at @plaguepoems, on Mastodon at @plaguepoems@mastodon.social, 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.

*

Standing in line
in front of me
two college students discuss
the courses they are taking
after a comment
about dropping a class
one asks the other:
“Is it just me
or is everyone
having a sore throat?”
and instead of waiting
for the other to answer
I moved to a different line.

*

I cannot tell you
exactly what we must do
to end the pandemic
trust me, if I knew
I would tell you
and though I know
that I cannot tell you
exactly what we must do
to end the pandemic
I can still say
that what we are doing
is clearly not sufficient.

*

The signs saying
that masks are required
have been taken down
the restaurants
are open and crowded
these days no one asks you
to show proof of vaccination
or a negative test result
you don’t need permission
to do as you like
what you want
is to be absolved of guilt
for giving up.

*

I fear that next time
(and there will be a next time)
there won’t be a moment
not even a brief one at the start
in which we pretend as though
we are all in it together.

*

You probably won’t see it
on the front page
but it is worth noting
that when they get around
to posting the official totals
we will learn
that as of this week
we have suffered
more than
eleven incalculable losses.

*

While much has changed
over the course
of the pandemic
some things
have been consistently true
namely: that everyone
in the zoom meeting
wants to se your cat,
and that you should
try your damnedest
to protect those around you.

*

My health conscious friend
calls to rave about
the benefits of giving up
on alcohol
thous as she regales me
she keeps stopping to cough
and when I ask if she is alright
my health conscious friend
(who has also given up
on masking)
says she has caught it
for a third time.

*

And every day
the we
made up of those
who still feel
bound by the belief
that all of us
are in this together
grows smaller.

*

To survive
in this imperfect world
we are all of us forced
to make compromises
we wish it was otherwise
alas, it is how it is
and in the moment
even the best option
is rarely good enough
but it is one thing to try
and still have to compromise
and quite another
to just stop trying.

*

The manual says
that you are entitled
to bereavement leave
a few days are guaranteed
more if the death
was in your immediate family
your coworkers will send flowers
and express their condolences
but after that
if you still need to grieve
you will be expected to do it quietly.

*

As students, my peers and I
did not fear our teachers’ anger
though we were terrified
of them saying that we
had disappointed them
but the plague is an odd teacher
we are left to judge ourselves
and though there are days
when I am angry
I am mainly just disappointed
with us.

*

I hope that you
and those you love
never contract the virus
and should that happen
I pray your cases are mild
and if you become quite ill
if your sickness drags on
or if you find yourself mourning
I hope that others
extend to you the empathy
you refused to show to others.

*

Please
stop what you are doing
and in a calm clear voice say:
“computer, end program,”
for there is a chance
that you are actually
a crew member on a starship
in the 24th century
stuck in a holodeck simulation
of this historic pandemic
the chance is small
but it’s worth a try.

*

It is not uncommon
to wonder
if perhaps you
are turning into
your mother or your father
and while there may be
a strong family resemblance
you aren’t really turning into
your mother or father
for at your age
they had not endured
a plague.

*

I have a friend
with a rather confusing
imagination
whenever we speak
whenever we argue
they pontificate
about how a better world
is truly possible
(at some point in the future)
but in the here and now
they cannot even imagine
a world in which
people keep wearing masks.

*

They told us
not to live in fear
but to learn
to live with the virus
and then
when we acknowledged
that we were still
living with the virus
they accused us
of living in fear.

*

*

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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