Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Sixty-Sixth Week

Now that the emergency
has ended
the CDC maps
the nation’s current rate
of plague deaths
on a scale from
minimal to high
and while this
is an understandable way
for expressing data
it seems certain
that those still losing loved ones
would not describe their loss
as minimal.

My phone has informed me
that it “will no longer
log nearby devices
and you won’t be notified
of possible exposures”
so I suppose that
is yet another reminder
that we had the tools.

I fully recognize
that the designation
of new variants and lineages
is a serious matter
one done in keeping with
appropriate scientific procedures
nevertheless, I must say,
that designating a variant
as “FU”
feels like we
are just daring the virus
to do its worst.

It was an emergency,
it was the emergency,
it was the emergency
because it was our emergency,
but that was before
that was back
when they still pretended to care
about words like we and our
so now you are alone
with your emergency
just like everyone else.

Editorial Note: This is a collection of Plague Poems written between May 13, 2023 and May 19, 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.

My friend
the historian of medicine
calls me on the phone
wanting to talk
about the end
of public health
to which I respond
don’t you mean the end
of the public health emergency
and she replies that
yes, we should talk about that too.

Community transmission levels
will no longer be reported
which is only fitting
as we no longer bother
to even pretend
that we owe anything
to our communities.

The WHO declared that
the pandemic is no longer
a public health emergency
but they have not said
the pandemic is over
their declaration simply means
the pandemic is no longer
an “unusual or unexpected event”
so, the pandemic is not over
it’s worse
it has become usual and unexpected.

According to one estimate
by the end of 2023
the plague
will have cost the US economy
14 trillion dollars
which is certainly expensive
but to put this in perspective
by the end of 2023
the plague
will have cost some in the US
everything.

According to the CDC
“For many Americans
–including people
with certain disabilities
and chronic conditions–
COVID-19
still poses a serious health risk”
which is one way of saying
that for many people
the emergency
is far from over.

My friend the professor
was willing to be flexible
during the pandemic
but he laments that this semester
he had so many students
lose 10% of their grade
due to poor attendance
and he seems
rather annoyed with me
when I respond
that we are still
during the pandemic.

Expect no gratitude
for you will receive none,
no one will praise you
for still taking precautions,
make your peace
with receiving mockery
instead of thanks,
but that your efforts
go unappreciated
does not mean that they
are in vain.

My friend, the horror fan,
recommended an anthology series
which has set its tales
in hotels and asylums
within covens and at circuses
I asked if a season
had been set during a plague
but he said no
which makes sense
as that American horror story
would just be a documentary.

Scientists warn
that the world
will likely exceed
the 1.5°C climate threshold
by some point in 2027
so if you think
things are bad now
just wait
but if you are concerned
that things will get worse
it would be wise
for you to do more
than just wait.

It is easy to ignore
how much worse
it could have been
when you refuse
to acknowledge
how bad
it has already been.

They keep saying
that we’re in a better place
indeed, compared to how it was
we’re in a much better place
and while I get the sentiment
really, I do understand it,
I just keep thinking
that a better place
is where they say you are
when you’re already dead.

My apologies
but I must admit
that I do not believe I look
particularly hot or stylish
or pandemic chic
in my mask
I have seen my reflection
and I know I simply look
exhausted and stressed
but I confess I am not trying
to look attractive
I am just looking to survive.

If virus movies
were more realistic
a sequel would be released
every few weeks or months
in which the same characters
battle a slightly different version
of the virus form the first film
while with each sequel
more and more characters insist
that it will be the last film.

If you are struggling
to understand what it means
for the emergency to be over
as the pandemic continues
here is a useful comparison:
it is like removing the batteries
from that bothersome
shrieking smoke detector
so you can make peace
with living
in a building that is aflame.

So yours was
the only masked face
at the office
and in the store
on the subway
and in the waiting room
at least now you know the answer
to your teacher’s question
of if you would be willing
to do the right thing
even if you
were the only one doing it.

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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