You arrived, March 2020
Reeking of fear, death, panic, and bleach
You arrived with mandated Masks
Covering every face
Covering our emotions and expressions of pain
We’ve had one wave,
then too many
A 1st wave
A 2nd wave
And now a 3rd wave or is it the 4th?
Waves just rolling over us
While We are trying not to drown
Stuck in bubbles
surrounded By other household bubbles
Fear in the minds of case watchers
Many have died
Many are infected
Many are afraid of getting infected
And in the meantime,
COVID-19 is spurring racism
Unlocking xenophobia
Propping prejudices
Bringing out our society’s inequities
They say we are all impacted by COVID - 19
But does covid impact us all the same?
Schools moved from classrooms to kitchen tables
In-class assignments confined to bedrooms
Students behind computer screens
Missing out on rites of passage
But compensating with screens
Hand me another mask for my panicked heart
Say a prayer for those who are depending on school
To get away from their abuser
Our once connected world
Is now disconnected
Each variant stigmatizing minorities
People’s lives are coming undone
Everyone scrambling for vaccine appointments
To get their first shot
Of Pfizer
Of Moderna
Wondering if we will recover from this forced solitude
Hoping that our lives will return to normal
Busy ICU’s filled with patients
With Burning lungs struggling for air
Nurses eyes fixed on heart monitors
Health care workers
Putting on their PPE like an armor
Donning their gowns, masks, and gloves
Attending to the sick
Even on their 15th hour
Worried for their patients
Worried for their families
Not knowing if they will be next
Even as they experience burnout
Wondering how all this will turn out
Watching many of their patients die
Their hearts ache
as they watch
Families say goodbye
on computers and Ipads
Health care workers on the front lines
Shedding sweat, blood, and tears
Their hands
cracked
and worn
Masks lines
line their faces like battle scars
Across their nose, cheeks, and chin
From all the masks, they wore to keep it in
Their skin bruised and battered
Like they went to war
And yes they did
with COVID -19
I remember the freedom we used to take for granted
And what used to be
Maybe there are better days ahead
Let’s stay calm, work through this pandemic
End covids career and rid our earth of its captor
These are the times to show care to one another
Let’s face COVID-19 as a community
I think there are better days are coming
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