Four for a Plague

Annus Mirabilis

Yesterday,

Ordinary birds and ordinary cats passed the time,
As ordinary dawn brought ordinary day,
Under the gaze of a terrified queen,
Gazing through barred windows,
Some gathered, fear in their glances -
Don’t look, don’t watch.

Today,

Under the scowl of a petulant giant,
Scowling over folded arms,
Ordinary drunks and the ordinarily sober passed the time,
As ordinary dusk brought ordinary night,
Some gathered, fear in their glances -
Don’t touch, don’t breathe.

Tomorrow,

Ordinary birds and ordinary drunks will pass the time.
Under the gaze of terrified queens and petulant giants,
As dawn brings day, dusk brings night,
Some will gather, fear in their glances -
Don’t think, don’t hope.

March, 2020

********

Sick and Tired

Venus, weary of sanctimony, our prudery,
Has ceded us to Sophrosyne, and to our joylessness.
She is exhausted,
Even with those who never knew her,
Even with the sensual, who laugh.

Fides, weary of hypocrisy, our duplicity,
Has ceded us to Plutus, and to our greed.
She is exhausted,
Even with those who never knew her,
Even with the devoted, who honor.

Salus, weary of negligence, our carelessness,
Has ceded us to Thanatos, and to our death.
She is exhausted,
Even with those who never knew her,
Even with the healers, who labor.

February, 2021

It Will Always be March

Shelter in place, they said,
But they never explained.
In place of what?

October, 2020

********

Tod und Verklärung: The Morning After the Plague

I dreamed I woke up and the world was strange,
So I went to the window,
But the skies were green and the grasses were blue,
As they should be.

The light was hesitant and the air hummed oddly,
So I opened the door,
But birds were barking and dogs were chirping,
As they should be.

As I poured the coffee the room tilted sideways,
So I stepped outside,
But the sun was white and the clouds were golden,
As they should be.

As I waited, the day slid past me,
Like oil on glass,
Leaving something of itself,
Something silky and formless on my skin,
Until finally, I saw it.

I saw crowds gather,
And that I might join them,
And hands, bare, that I might be touched,
And mouths, uncovered,
That I might be kissed.

Seeing the air and hearing the light,
On my blue grass and under my green sky,
As the dogs chirped,
And the birds barked,
I raised my mug.

I saluted the warm golden clouds
As they passed over the cooling white sun,
And considered the ether,
Giving way to substance,
To a tomorrow that, finally, exists again.

September, 2022