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. 

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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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Poets, Prayers, and Radio Talk Show Hosts

A  Brief Review of Recent Popular Posts

Photo by Charles Kinnaird

Earlier this year my blog surpassed 600,000 page views (602,000 as of this date), so I figured it was time fora brief review of what’s happening at Not Dark Yet.

The Top Four Posts This Month

The top posts for the past month include two new ones and two old ones. My recollection of “Rush Limbaugh’s On-Air Reign” has been the most read piece this month. The second most read is an interfaith essay that was first posted during Ramadan in 2013, “The Lamps are Different but the Light is the Same.” 

Coming in at number 3 is “My Season with Dante,” a colorful account of my encounter with Dante’s Divine Comedy that began with an evening class at church and continued with my listening to the entire work on an audiobook. It was first posted in 2012 and includes illustrations by William Blake depicting the passage through Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.  

The fourth most popular post this month was my review of all the Inaugural poets from U.S. Presidential Inaugurations (there have only been six, and I make a tenuous claim to have heard all of them in real-time). With “The Presidential Inaugural Poem: Calling Us to Our Touchstones” you can see and hear each inaugural poet from Robert Frost to Amanda Gorman.

Recent Popular Posts

Some of you followed my series about growing up in the Jim Crow South. “Growing Up under Southern Apartheid” featured 10 personal essays that spanned my pre-school and elementary school days in which I tried to convey what it was like in the days of segregation. There is an eleventh essay about my grandfather and his encounter with the KKK back in the 1920s.

There is still a lot more to tell about growing up in the segregated South and I have plans to continue the memoir series at a later date. For an index to all the stories so far go to https://notdarkyet-commentary.blogspot.com/2020/10/index-for-growing-up-under-southern_6.html.

During the past year, as one would expect, there were many essays and poems about life during the pandemic which we continue to live with even as we are finding hope with the vaccine efforts. Some of my poems are in a book that my writing group has published, The Social Distance: Poetry in Response to COVID-19. You can read about that in my September post, “PoetryDuring Days of COVID.”

In the Days Ahead

In the coming month of April, I will feature a variety of poets reading their work in celebration of National Poetry Month. Not Dark Yet continues to feature music on Mondays, haiku on Saturdays, and personal essays during the week with humor and recipes tossed in as well. I hope you will find something that piques your interest there.

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When We Were All Together

 

  

When We Were All Together

 

“The best of times.”

The very phrase invokes

a mixture of joy and loss

upon recalling the past.

 

When we feasted in bounty

we could not think of empty shelves.

Why spoil a present joy

with fear for the future?

 

Days of laughter –

always welcomed as a tonic

for our troubles

When we were all together.

 

What the years have scattered

leaves us with a timely scrapbook of the heart.

In our separation

we see the measure of our days

with a clarity not known

When we were all together.

 

                                ~ Charles Kinnaird

 

 

 

This poem is one I wrote earlier in the year when we were learning to manage during the initial COVID-19 lockdown. For other poems from a variety of poets, please consider The Social Distance: Poetry in Response to COVID-19, available on Amazon.

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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Poetry During the Pandemic

What a year this has been! But I don't have to tell you that, do I? Back in August, I shared a poem, "Turning Under" which spoke of some of the harrowing days we have been experiencing, including the COVID-19 pandemic. 

I would like to take a moment to remind you that I  have some other poems included in a new 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.

At $9.95, this handsome volume makes a fine gift for any thoughtful reader or poetry enthusiast. You can order a paperback copy from Amazon here. 

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

-

Poetry During Days of COVID

On Sunday I shared a poem, "Turning Under" which spoke of some of the harrowing days we have been experiencing, including the COVID pandemic. I have some other poems included in a new anthology, The Social Distance: Poetry in Response to COVID-19. The book has received many compliments from readers and is available at Amazon. As an introductory offer, there is a free e-book version available, or you can order a paperback copy from Amazon here. 

I was also 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.  

-

Poetry in Response to COVID-19

I am pleased to have three of my poems included in the new anthology, The Social Distance: Poetry in Response to COVID-19. I am doubly pleased that Alabama's Poet Laureate, Jennifer Horne, read one of my poems in her Midweek Poetry Break.

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The Social Distance: A New Book

I have some poems in this new anthology that some friends and I have put together, The Social Distance: Poetry in Response to COVID-19. This collection gives voice to our struggles, questions, and hopes as we make our way through this pandemic.

The paperback comes out in September, but you can pre-order now. Check it out at Amazon.

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.














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