Covid Poems
A collection of poems from around the world........                                                
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9-year-old raises money for first responders through book of poem sales.......read more Restless, horror, hope and laughter: Kentucky poets putting COVID into words.......read more And So The Sun by Lotus Kay It’s been honking all morning The highway is filled with cars Of people trying to make it someplace different than where they are Trying not to be late But the traffic’s making them wait. The cars pass by a school They pass by some stores and shops They pass by some restaurants and salons All working non-stop The day had only begun And there’s so much to be done Today’s a morning Just like any other morning Of human civilization under the sun. And so the sun When looking down Thought “What would happen If things changed around? The world is just like a sun That will not set When will the world Ever rest? What if these cars had no place to be? What if these stores and shops closed And people were to forced to focus only on the things they really need? What if people were forced to spend time with themselves? Forced to reflect and focus on their health? And I’m not talking about just one town What if the whole world changed around? Everyone together All connected All going through the same thing All equally affected. What if instead of putting them to waste People appreciated the resources they had? Not constantly taking for granted What’s in their grocery bag? What if all this pollution started declining? With the highways mostly empty And fewer planes flying? What if families were forced to bond Whether or not they got along? And the glitter and glamour of a celebrity life What if you took away all the hype? And forced everyone to live the same way Forced to see they’re all alike. And what if parents watched their kids learn and grow? Not sending them away each day But keeping them at home? What if people were forced to connect In a place where countries don’t have boundaries Called ‘the internet.’ What if there was a deeper feeling of unity? With more people being aware of their communities? What if people had to redefine The things that they find fun Without being able to go to parties and clubs? What if an extroverted society Had to find a way to do things more quietly? Just for a while What if there was a collective pause? So the upcoming mornings Wouldn’t move so fast And people could reevaluate The way they were living in the past?” And so the sun When looking down Thought “What would happen If things changed around? The Walls BY MARIA MEZIANI Looking around I see these walls, These dull brown walls, These four sharp walls, These lonely but united walls. So constricting yet so welcoming They will hold you tight, As long as you’re alright, They will keep you warm, Helping you mourn. The holes in the wall let me see, That very tree. It reminds me. It reminds me of those days, Where nothing went my way, Where I skipped through the grass And wasn’t looking through stained glass. It reminds me of the times I didn’t spend alone, Before any of this was known. Before the drama and the trauma, Before the pain and the rain. Before the deaths and the threats. Making me wonder if I was ever alone, Away from home. Oh, what a shame it would be! To leave these four walls and flee. Will The Door Ever Open? by Indulekha Agnihotram The roads are empty, the crowds too small, And no trace of life outside, none at all. Every human is locked up in their house, And the sunny play ground, now looks bleak. Why does our wide world look so desolate now? What a silly question, even a toddler would have the answer. Cause, there’s a monster out there, That can make even breathing like hell. It is tinier than our cells, but it is causing a huge pandemic, If it enters your body, it may wreak havoc. Coughs or sneezes are like its private jet, And to your lungs, it’s a threat. We, who always chat and dine in groups, Now prefer to stay away, And with a mask on our mouths, St at home straight away. Nobody’s going to school anymore, No child playing in the park, Nobody’s even opening the door, Except for grocery or stock. We used to giggle and play On our swings and slide, Now, we’re caged in our homes, As Corona gambols outside. I used to pity my dolls, trapped on the shelves, Now, I really don’t know why, As to me, it’s a privilege To even bask in sunlight these days. We, who are social animals, Now dread the door bell. Sadly, we are told to see, Every visitor as an unwelcome virus. When can we really be free? When can we stick our heads out? When will the dawn arrive? Come on, let us await that day Covid-19 BY AUDREY CHUANG, 11 The news rings in my head The anger and negativity swirling around me I can’t settle My heart won’t settle Everyone’s hearts won’t settle Every pair of anxious eyes Waiting for the image For the image Of crime Death The old book that I have read millions of times by now Is wrinkled And words are faded I can’t go outside to play I can’t imagine without going to the library I can’t imagine without reading a new book I can feel my heart beating every time Something bad happens like the stock Rising up and down Like the heartbeat of a patient Waiting for the doctor I can feel the pain that the world is facing It feels like its pulse is in my hands Ready like a flying fish Out in the sky Open to the new Open wide world That used to be Full of people Now nothing But a mere ghost town Waiting to swallow you up And make you face the crime And the pain people are talking about in the news You know it You have it You feel the pain of who you are Until you fall into the jaws Of the people Who recovered And died You don’t know who is next But it may be you Watch out for the coronavirus Doctors and nurses Are waiting to See how to stop the jaws Of the Covid-19. COVID 19 by Steven Kiama Ambrose "The human race shall always overcome," said Jommo Kenyatta See, I am the ultimate test How well do you work together? How well coordinated are you? COVID 19 is my name I know no boundaries or lanes No celebrity can match my fame Like a roaring flame I engulf all on my path The poor and the rich both feel my wrath \ You have a common enemy in me So, lower your guns and focus on me Lower your rank, tribe, ethnicity and focus on me For can't you see, can't you see? I know off no hierarchy My presence brings fear and anarchy I am stronger than Samson For I break the unbreakable I'll break your economy I'll break your faith But that's only if you let me For the racism you show only strengthens me You like hiding your identity, then wear a mask You claim that your hands are clean, then sanitize For the death I cause is no man's fault but rather my nature You shall overcome me; it's in your blood, it's your nature I am no professor, neither is this a lecture But only working together can tame my destructive nature As Nations cower in fear For I grab many victims in a day For once they see something worse than war For once they see humanity is worth fighting for What goes up must come down No authority is higher than me For I break the laws of traditions I break the laws of a normal condition But I'll never break the so-called men Bend them to their breaking points Once they kill me, they forget my wrath and once again I'll strike As you suffer because of me Also try and learn from me and your mistakes As I go down the books of history Still there's more to come Maintain the togetherness And there will be no harm Share the little you have Before I strike and leave you with none The only way to survive me, is by joining heads Lock your doors for I roam the streets Stay alert for like an assassin; you never know my target Love in the Time of COVID-19, A Community Poem for Healthcare Workers and Other Frontliners by San Mateo County Poet Laureate Aileen Cassinetto Your voice holds me when your arms cannot. You spoke calming words to me as I slipped into sleep And yours were the first eyes I saw as I came out from under the fog Wingless angels dressed in scrubs, footfall on our steps, a tap on the window, a neighbor’s wave, a newly-sewn mask tossed (in a plastic bag), to the front of the door: “run it through the washer first,” she calls, waves, and departs. (Fifteen years ago, at fifteen, just arrived from El Salvador, she walked into my Jefferson High ESL class. Today, she is a hero, daily risking her life for her patients, while her own children wait in their fog-shrouded home.) Earth angels, haloes shining bright, working with this virus in the air! We will not despair You support us You surround us Because of you, the world will get brighter, socially un-distancing. Bless the arms that hold you today. We’re all joining hands, guests on this planet, across many lands. We are forever grateful to the warriors who save lives. Time to recognize the real heroes, brilliant shadows, as we’ve never seen before. God calls us to opportunity, it is for each of us to claim. Our neighbor is our brother, is our sister, is our keeper, is our healer. As soldiers, you stand tall, ready for the next patient who calls. Your love and care exemplify heroism without compare. Without you, our country would be facing an even larger catastrophe. Doctors and nurses and other frontliners, with help to give. Some deliver goods, some clean and scrub, stock the shelves, and work so hard so we can stay in our space. You can do it, you can make it, single mom working two shifts, exhausted nursing home staff fighting against depression and confusion. Dementia. Dressing up in silly costumes, dancing down the halls, Holding ipads high so loved ones can see, their elderly parent who are unable to communicate, reassuring them that everything will be okay. Smiling faces, heads pounding, tirelessly ensuring the outside world stays ‘outside’ and residents stay safe. For the inner strength, courage and compassion with which you serve, our eternal devotion, you so deserve. For all your efforts, may you be blessed a thousand fold. Where we are, the tired ghosts of fearful uncertainty welcome the laughter that champions the heart, for the speed of love turns out to be the speed of light. A gentle reminder: Be safe. Be well. Be kind. Which is to say, shelter in safety and love. Everybody’s home and nobody’s alone. FOR COURAGE by John O'Donohue, Irish poet and priest When the light around you lessens And your thoughts darken until Your body feels fear turn Cold as stone inside, When you find yourself bereft Of any belief in yourself And all you unknowingly Leaned on has fallen, When one voice commands Your whole heart, And it is raven dark, Steady yourself and see That it is your own thinking That darkens the world, Search and you will find A diamond-thought of light. Know that you are not alone, And that darkness has purpose; Gradually it will school your eyes To find the one gift your light requires Hidden within this night corner. Invoke the learning Of every suffering You have suffered. Close your eyes Gather all the kindling About your heart To create one spark. That is all you need To nourish the flame That will cleanse the dark Of its weight of festered heart. A new confidence will come alive To urge you toward higher ground Where your imagination Will learn to engage difficulty As its most rewarding threshold! My Corona By Sally Morgan The coronavirus looks like a dog toy or a child’s Koosh ball with its primary color and fanciful shape. How can something so whimsical be so insidious? It hasn’t infected me, mind you, but it has changed me — morphed into an odd, complex chimera. I’ve grown antennae that detect a six foot field around me. I’ve developed a fly’s eyes to see danger on surfaces. Like a squirrel, I bury food in nooks and crannies for a distant time. I don a carapace to venture out — which I shed like a snakeskin on return to my door. I am Lady Macbeth at the sink. The future keeps receding. Certainty has collapsed. Sometimes I am like the bear, lumbering out of hibernation — but mostly, I am like the ground hog, waiting still waiting to see her shadow A Viral Composition By Renata Starbird It all seems so simple, yet wonderfully cunning that we should be haunted by creatures so stunning. Not a prokaryote nor is it eukaryotic, some close to home, others much more exotic. As we go ’round the globe in our planes, trains, and cars, as we chop down the trees to make room for our yards, as we drill deep into earth and pave roads in the mountains, viral dark matters inch closer by thousands. They are shapers and shakers of mankind’s own history. Preceding discovery, they were gigantic mystery. Killing off whole royal lines was Smallpox, the devil – pustules on eyes, skin, and lungs, truly testing our mettle. Intriguing and puzzling, these enigmatic beings. All time they’ve been with us – know they well a human being. Great lessons and wisdom they’ve yet to divulge, with science and research, we all may indulge. The cold, oh so common, is beastly to tackle, over two hundred strains leave us to grapple. More ominous yet, our dear friend influenza, With quick RNA changes, she cares not for agenda. We’ve got light bulbs and iPads and hydraulic presses, but vaccines(!), they must summit mankind’s great successes. They’ve transformed and disposed of so many diseases, now I need not be scared every time someone sneezes. Anthropological insight may also be gained. Conversation ’cross cultures renders a virus contained. It takes research and business, compassion and sharing, with bright minds invested, much better we’ll be faring. I find myself curious and searching for answers. What makes EBV change? It caused mono, now cancer! Might viruses also bring nanotechnology, come to save us from skewed inner ecology? Viruses bookmark our history and act as timekeepers. Of iron-lung confined children dream motherly weepers. With red patches and scratches returns a viral exanthem, when anti-vaxxers in Cali say vaccines, we can’t stand ’em. And then there’s Mbeki with his one stoic face, turning down HIV drugs, laying his country to waste. Humbly reminding that with best of intentions we will still make mistakes. What intricate beings, these expert cell hijackers. Of our proteins and systems, they are detailed mappers. By studying viruses, we study ourselves, this is where my mind wanders while observing the wells. “Pathogen free!” some have said, but I vote allies instead. There’s so much yet unknown – viral footprints in our chromosomes. And with this brief poem I hope to convey, the fascination for viruses that I have today. Man’s best friend may be dog, but his longest companion has always been microbes that are living within him. |
