COVID Moments

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

 

COVID Moments

by Charles Kinnaird

 

We kept death so distant

we could eat steak

without thinking of the slaughterhouse.

We could fry chicken every Wednesday

and never have to wring a neck.

And now the hangman

waits for us.

 

We treated death

like flotsam that washes up

with the tide,

Not realizing

that death is the tide itself.

 

The cedar waxwing –

lovely elegant form –

lay lifeless on the sidewalk,

a victim of plate glass windows.

She had flown freely,

oblivious of

civilization’s snare.

 

Death waited

expectantly,

perhaps over the next hill

or down the block

or just around the corner.

We moved within it

as it moved among us.

Careful steps.

An ominous dance.

 

Some things die slowly.

Police Send Two Black Men Away from

Walmart Store for Wearing Protective Masks

Though death is the

ultimate leveler,

it is still more difficult

to be safe

while being black.

  

Burial trenches

are dug in The Bronx

for mass graves

as were once seen in wartime,

or in despotic regimes.

COVID-19 claims more victims

and while we dig

we dare not doubt

that a vaccine

will soon combat this death.

 

Reluctantly

we closed down

and donned our masks.

Streets and courtyards

Restaurants and banks

Schools and churches

Now empty.

None can say when

or how

we will open back up.

 

Social distancing

Is the directive.

 

Hospitals retool.

Nurses retrain.

Doctors reframe

medical necessity.

Chaplains remind

that caring

spans distance.

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Just when we thought we were seeing an end to the pandemic, the Delta variant has brought about an increase in COVID cases with more hospitalizations.  The poem above is one of many others that some friends and I have compiled in a poetry anthology, The Social Distance: Poetry in Response to COVID-19. The book has received many compliments from readers and is available on Amazon.  The poets featured are from different walks of life and their words offer a meaningful examination of how we make our way through these unusual times.

I was pleased that Alabama's poet laureate, Jennifer Horne, read one of my poems from the book for her Midweek Poetry Break. You can enjoy that reading here. 

*     *     *

The Social Distance: Poetry in Response to COVID-19

An Anthology by the Highland Avenue Eaters of Words

Poetry and photographs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, sheltering in place and related trials. The poets, who include doctors, lawyers, journalists, and other professionals open themselves up in non-sentimental, beautiful, and often painful verse that seeks to capture these odd and often difficult times. This book is for those who want to keep a reminder of what "social distancing" was like and to experience how others dealt with isolation and fear. Although engaged in other vocations, the contributing poets include experienced writers who are the winners of local and national contests. Several of the poets have written other books of poetry, essays, and fiction as well as numerous articles and contributions to professional publications.

Available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Social-Distance-Poetry-Response-COVID-19/dp/1098317092

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