Dressing in the dark in winter clothes
I turn on the coffee to a rising death toll.
Under stay-at-home orders and weeping skies
I need a haircut and larder supplies.
Jigsaw puzzle spread out on a table,
piece by piece I construct a town.
Tulips, groomed grass, and houses that house people.
Lecture halls and libraries and bustling alehouses.
Bartenders with white towels wiping down bars,
Cracking jokes and drawing pints in a fairy tale land.
With writings and books and time for it all
I should be content but I miss my pals.
Linked up with Earthweal and the weekly challenge,"Flattening The Curve".
To date in America there are 183,000 cases of Covid-19 and 3,774 deaths, a sobering number as it doubled in two days.
9 comments:
Sadly in the present. Enjoyed.
Stay safe.
You too Tony. Thanks!
Oh Yvonne, those numbers are terrible. A tragic story for every single one. That is HUGE percentage of deaths. He had disbanded the advisory for just this situation some 16 months ago. Sigh.
I hope alehouses are no longer bustling - here, right away, resorts, restaurants and small businesses closed down. We are not allowed to gather outside of our family units. Even so, they are saying there will be a second wave in the FALL. That gave me pause. OMG. I never thought I would be living through this. But we are. I am grateful for online. More than ever. My main source of connection these days. Stay safe. Stay inside.........keep in touch, okay? Here they say when you come in from being out, put your clothes in the wash, have a shower, and wipe down whatever you bring in, discard outer packaging.............I dont know if anyone is telling you down there.........
Hi Sherry,
Alehouses are not bustling. I just added a line to my poem to make that clear. We are being advised of the same here but too many didn't take any of this seriously at first because you-know-who did not, went so far as to call it a hoax. I have also heard about a resurgence in the fall. I'm going to the grocery today, enough for two weeks, sanitizing everything that we bring home. Take care and yes,we'll keep in touch.
How wonderful to choose a jigsaw puzzle that contrasts with the awful reality, an antidote to sorrow, but also a dive into what we miss. I miss hugs and haircuts, too.
Susan,
I have rediscovered the jigsaw puzzle. This pandemic sure makes us miss the mundane. As when the power goes out, when restored we marvel over the light switch. Thank you very much for reading and commenting.
I loved how the jigsaw puzzle reassembled a life lost (or at least suspended) Out There - a patient and faithful replication, which is what we do in our poems ... And the other moments of the inbound life are so true too. I could use a haircut ... Well done - Brendan
I've come to understand that I am a hugger and I miss hugging my friends. Very locked up here. Trying to even avoid the store. Working through the freezer as much as possible. Your poem says it all. Our lives deconstructed, rebuilt for the time being, through fantasy.
Brendan,
Exactly right. This puzzle has become compelling and absorbing. Status update: I'm nearly half done with the thousand-piece and I've started to become attached, almost like writing a novel whose characters take on a life of their own Thank you for all you are doing in the online community.
Liza,
Thanks for stopping by for a virtual visit. This shutdown will make us appreciate the little things for sure. An interesting aside: auto emissions are down and the skies over our cities are clearing. Mother Nature rebounds with a vengeance. The virus is forcing us to adopt the Green New Deal. Temporarily. Take care and be safe. At least we can still write.
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