Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Eightieth Week

There is one way
one essential way
in which all of these new variants
are nearly identical
to the previous variants
namely: that you should try
not to catch them.

*

My friend in California
sent me a video clip
of surfers
riding the hurricane’s waves
and as I watched them
all I could think
is that in the future
when historians ask
how we reacted
to this era of disasters
I hope that they are able
to find these videos.

*

In a headline
the newspaper of record declared
that “COVID
Didn’t Take a Summer Vacation”
which is quite true
but unfortunately
far too many newspapers
took a summer vacation
from covering the virus.

*

I confess
earlier in the summer
when I replied
to the celebrations
hailing the pandemic’s end
with a wary reminder
that we had previously believed
the plague finished in the summer
only for it to return in the fall:
I had hoped I’d be wrong
god damn
how I’d hoped I’d be wrong.

*

Editorial Note: This is a collection of Plague Poems written between August 19, 2023 and August 25, 2023.

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

*

After her first day
at university
my cousin messaged me
to say that she
was the only one
the only one masked
in any of her classe
and though I wish
that I could have said more
I just told her that I
know a professor
who was the only one
the only one masked
in any of his classes.

*

Usually, when the data
from the wastewater levels
shows that cases are rising
I immaturely joke
about how this horrid news shows
that we are in deep shit
or that this shit isn’t over
a humorous way to mask
that I am just so tired of this shit.

*

According to the CDC
“After a wildfire,
dust and ash
can harm your health”
therefore you should
“Wear a NIOSH Approved
N95 respirator,
and follow instructions
to wear it correctly”
now if only they could get around
to issuing similar guidance
regarding the airborne virus.

*

A new study has found
that even amongst those
who only experienced
a relatively mild case of COVID
heightened risks
and lingering problems
can persist two years later
though you could have known this
before the new study
if you were willing to listen
to those already suffering.

*

The virus
just keeps mutating
climate disasters
happen almost daily
but my boss
keeps knocking on my door
to ask me how worried
we should be
about AI.

*

In all likelihood
we shall not see
these new variants cause
too massive a spike
in case numbers
after all this is not
the fall of 2021
things are different now
things are very different now
for example, back then
we were still trying
to keep track of the virus.

*

I heard it said
that the pandemic
has changed us
but according to the NIH
“Severe COVID-19
may lead to long-term
innate immune system changes”
and I must confess
previously when I heard
that the pandemic
has changed us, I didn’t realize
“change” was meant so literally.

*

It is a challenge
to convince people
that they should care
about high community spread
when most people
do not see themselves
as part of a community.

*

While it is significant
that the media is saying
“If you’re at high risk
of serious illness or death
from Covid-19,
it’s time to dust off
those N95 masks”
I can’t help but think
this surge
might have been avoided
had we listened
to those at high risk
who never stopped masking.

*

My employer sent guidance
that in the horrific case
of an active shooter
we should remember to
“Run, Hide, Fight”
but when it comes to
these normalized cases
of the virus
we are expected to
remain in place
gather together closely
and we are mocked
if we try to fight infection.

*

Apparently
some movie studios
are reintroducing
mask mandates
but really this is no surprise
after all, movie studios
know all about sequels
in which the supposedly
defeated monster
comes back yet again.

*

“But what if all of this
just winds up being
much ado about nothing?”
they ask
in order to justify
that nothing
is about as much
as they are willing to do.

*

In a rage
the historian calls me
and laments how
some unethical journalist
has plagiarized his work
but I doubt his fury
is responsible for
how sore and scratchy
his voice sounds
and so I worry
that someone not bothering
to properly cite him
may not be his biggest problem.

*

I asked my friend the professor
how her first week went
and she told me
a student fell asleep
on the first day
but after class apologized
explaining she was just tired
as she was sick
(as everyone in her sorority
was also sick)
so clearly the semester
is off to a normal start.

*

According to the data
the virus
is surging yet again
so our leaders
would like to remind you
to do your part
to protect yourself and others
from this airborne virus
yes our leaders
would like to remind you
to please wash your hands.

*

In the absence
of a safety net
it falls to us
to catch one another.

*

*

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

View all posts by Z.M.L →