Plague Poems

A record of the plague years. Z"L.

https://librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/plague-poems/

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Last Notes

2024-09-12 20:05:04

At this point in the pandemic
we don’t know what else to do,
meanwhile in Finland
a study has found that
air purifiers used in daycares
reduced children’s illnesses by 18%
a simple intervention
which helped combat
airborne infections,
but we
we just don’t know what else to do.

2024-05-08 18:06:24

The under secretary
for food safety at the USDA
says, “we are pretty sure
that the meat supply
is safe,”
and though I understand
this is meant to be reassuring
I am pretty sure
that now is a good time
to try being a vegetarian.

2024-05-04 00:28:21

When they tell you
(and they will tell you)
that only cowards
wear masks in public
reply by telling them
that in these dark times
the bravest thing
any of us can do
is take care of each other.

2024-03-16 00:16:21

Four years ago
as we braced for the worst
the supermarkets were out
of toilet paper and bread
the pharmacies were out
of thermometers and medicine
so we held fast to compassion
and to hope
now the pharmacies and supermarkets
are stocked,
but we’ve run out
of compassion and hope.

2024-03-15 23:02:35

That you
have survived
four years
of the pandemic
does not mean
that you
have survived
the pandemic.
*
A compendium of the 208th week of plague poems…
https://librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2024/03/15/plague-poems-the-two-hundred-and-eighth-week/

2024-03-15 21:33:54

It is said
that one year for a human
is the equivalent
of seven years for a dog
and according to the research
even one mild Covid infection
can be the equivalent
of seven years of brain aging
which is a disturbingly literal way
of saying this virus
makes you sick like a dog.

2024-03-13 23:59:17

I can notice the change
in myself
the increased difficulty
in finding the words
in finding the details
in finding the responses
for which I am looking
yes, I am forgetting things
like I never used to before
but through it all
I have not forgotten
that I am in a pandemic.

2024-03-13 16:21:08

After I calmly explained
that I was masked
to help protect
people who are at risk
he snickered and asked
“are the people who are at risk
in the room with us
right now?"
though he did not laugh
when I replied
"yes, almost certainly."

2024-03-12 22:43:18

My friend insists
it is not so much
that the pandemic
has changed people
as that it has revealed
who they always were
but if that is the case
there are so many people
who I liked better
before the pandemic
revealed who they always were.

2024-02-21 18:12:05

I remember being taught
that when confronted
with danger
humans will react with either
fight or flight
but as I look around now
at all of the people
confronted by danger
I do not see them
fighting or flying
but calmly pretending
that there is no danger.

2023-09-27 17:26:08

New research has found
that the virus can damage
mitochondrion
in the heart
in the kidney
as well as in the liver
but if it has been a long time
since you took a science class
and so you are unsure
what mitochondria do
please just know
this is not a positive finding.

2023-09-27 15:39:09

A new poll finds
that 15% of Americans
have had COVID
two or three times
which is certainly bad
but please bear in mind
the poll did not ask participants
if they have also had
the summer flu
or mystery bug
or the other things
we call it
when we don’t want to admit
we have COVID.

2023-09-20 20:11:36

There is concern
that the current counts
are inaccurate
and that cases
are being missed
after all, it’s very easy
to miss cases
when you aren’t really looking.

2023-09-15 21:25:16

It is said that the majority
has simply moved on
they flattened the curve
they got the shots
they masked when required
but that was long ago
now they have been told
the pandemic is over
and they believe it
yes, the majority has moved on,
but the majority
can still be wrong.

2023-08-31 21:20:55

Concern
about the new variants
must be seeping in
for today when I ran
into the supermarket
there were many masked faces
many more masked faces
than I’ve seen in months
I’ve grown accustomed
to being the only masked face
but today
mine was one of four.

2023-08-25 23:34:22

I confess
that I have not read
each and every single one
of the articles asking
if now is the time
to start wearing a mask again
though it seems significant
that so many news outlets
feel compelled
to once more ask this question
*
The 179th week…
https://librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2023/08/24/plague-poems-the-hundred-and-seventy-ninth-week/

2023-08-24 22:00:00

“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.

2023-08-22 22:11:49

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.

2023-08-22 21:28:16

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.

2023-08-21 22:09:27

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.

2023-08-21 15:51:28

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.

2023-08-18 21:26:21

I know, my friend,
that it feels to you as if
having to take
precautions again
is a huge step
just a huge step backwards
but please consider
that when you find yourself
standing at the edge of a cliff
a huge step backwards
is exactly what is needed.

2023-08-18 17:44:57

Upon opening
the WHO’s dashboard
I was greeted by a message
announcing that “Starting
from the week
of 7 August 2023,
the Region of the Americas
has stopped
sharing the COVID-19
cases and deaths updates”
which is certainly one way
to make it seem
like the plague is over.

2023-08-17 21:20:32

She cornered me
in the stairwell
to tell me she knows
she should wear a mask
but she is worried
that doing so might result
in people treating her oddly
and I was unsure
of how to respond
for I had just been treated oddly
by a coworker
who had decided
to corner me in a stairwell.

2023-08-16 15:18:52

After I told him
at yesterday’s meeting
that I was wearing a mask
so that anyone else masking
would not be alone
he arrived at today’s meeting
wearing a mask
and though we were but two
in a room of seventy
for a brief moment
I remembered how hope feels.

2023-08-15 23:57:12

By now
you’ve probably heard it said
that “the latest
covid-19 variant
does not pose a serious threat
to most people”
but please bear in mind
there are many people
who were confident
that they belonged
to that “most people”
until they became sick.

2023-08-15 22:11:07

Please, you must be careful
it is only August
should you have to use up
all your sick days now
you won’t have any left
if you come down
with the virus again
in the fall or winter
oh, but who am I kidding
it’s not like any of us
have sufficient sick days anyways.

2023-08-14 22:06:38

If you asked me
five years ago
what kind of person
would walk over
a dying man
on their way to
a mountain’s top
I would say I did not know
but as I sit here now
watching so many
refuse to do anything
to protect each other
from the virus
I fear such unkind people
are everywhere.

2023-08-14 20:31:07

They keep saying
you don’t need to worry
you don’t need to really worry
as long as you are up to date
on your boosters
which would be reassuring
except unfortunately
another wave is here
and the new boosters are not.

2023-08-11 16:47:57

When we finally find a time
to speak, my aunt the doctor
tells me she is afraid
that the virus
has damaged people’s hearts,
and I tell her at this point
people seem even crueler
than they did before,
but she interrupts me to clarify
that the virus
literally damages the heart.

2023-08-07 22:32:08

When the billionaire declared
“this has gone on long enough”
I agreed with him, as I too
think that the pandemic
“has gone on long enough”
but then he added
“the pandemic is over”
and I realized he was talking
about remote work
which reminded me
why I don’t listen to billionaires.

2023-08-04 15:34:35

Now that the emergency
has officially ended
the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention
are no longer tracking the virus
quite as closely as before
which certainly seems
(as a new wave begins)
to make it rather difficult
for those centers
to control and prevent this disease.

2023-08-02 16:17:14

I confess,
when I hear the WHO say
“We will continue to see
waves of COVID19,
the virus is still evolving…
we do not yet have
a predictable pattern of evolution,
we don’t have seasonality,
we are at risk
for more severe variants”
it sounds to me
like the emergency isn’t over.

2023-03-21 21:43:43

On the pharmacy’s floor
is a faded sticker which reads:
“stay safe—six feet apart”
seeing that I am looking at it
an employee tells me
that they tried to get rid of it
but it’s really stuck
so they’ve decided to live with it
and I can’t tell
if he means the sticker or the virus.