Notices by Plague Poems (plaguepoems@mastodon.social)

My colleague insists
it’s just his allergies
sure, usually his allergies
don’t give him a fever,
or a sore throat,
or a raw cough,
but it’s allergy season
so it must be allergies,
and he’s right
it is allergy season,
but unfortunately
it is also still plague season.

The old activist tells me
it would have been wise
had more of used the pandemic
to organize groups
for taking care of each other,
and when I ask her
what then we should do now,
she replies:
it would be wise for more of us
to organize groups
for taking care of each other.

A poll of US scientists found
that many of them
are looking to leave the country,
and though we can understand
their desire to get away,
it is important to remember:
in these dark times
some of us may be able
to escape the country,
but none of us can escape
from these dark times.

My friend,
who knows about economics,
warns that those in charge
have no idea
what they are doing.

My friend,
who knows about history,
warns that those in charge
know exactly
what they are doing.

Oh, my friends,
I am not sure
which of these assessments
is more frightening.

My uncle, who invests,
says don’t worry
the markets will recover,
he says we should all learn
from the pandemic:
the markets suffered
but the markets recovered,
and I suppose he is right,
but what I learned
from this pandemic
is that the markets recover
but many people never do.

If you are preparing
to stock up
for the difficult times ahead
make sure to get extra
toilet paper and beans
pet food and rice,
and also make sure
to stock up
on test kits and masks,
for the market numbers
are going down,
but the infection numbers
are going up.

It doesn’t matter
if you are not an economist,
it’s fine if “bear market”
is something you had to look up,
know it is another crisis
that dogs your steps,
in this spring’s tale you
exit, pursued by a plague
and so (with apologies to the bard)
now you also
exit, pursued by a bear.

As the economy worsens
you may come to regret
the money you spent
on unnecessary goods,
and the energy you spent
on marketable skills,
but even
as the economy worsens
please know
the time you devoted
to trying to take care
of other people
was very well spent.

I read an article which noted
“the worst manifestations
of preventable diseases
have faded
from public memory,”
but if five full years
of this pandemic
has taught us anything
it is that it is not so much
that such memories fade
as that they are suppressed.

It is understandable that you
feel unwell,
for you live in sickening times:
the state of the world
will nauseate you,
the fear for the future
will exhaust you,
the spreading viruses
will infect you,
in these sickening times
what would be worrisome
is if you felt fine.

The first plague poem was posted on 3/16/20 (on Twitter).

The goal was to document the pandemic, and as the pandemic continues so too does the work of documenting it.

Thank you all for your support.

Weekly compendiums:
librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/plague-poems/

Stay safe. Take care of each other.

Five years ago
the refrigerated cases
at the grocery store
were running low on eggs
as the pandemic approached.

Now, five years later,
the refrigerated cases
at the grocery store
are running low on eggs
as the next pandemic approaches.

According to the news
“at risk”
is one of the phrases
the current administration
is erasing
from federal websites
and documents
which is as clear a sign as any
of just how greatly
all of us are at risk.

I have heard it said
that we are in
a quad-demic
yes, that is what
I have heard it called,
but between
Covid and influenza,
RSV and norovirus,
measles, tuberculosis,
and avian influenza
it seems that we
are in much worse
than a quad-demic.

I asked my friend, the activist,
for her thoughts
on the president saying
“no masks,”
and with a laugh
my friend, the activist, replied
that she thinks his statement
will probably lead
to more people wearing masks.

It has been reported
that this year’s
flu season
has been particularly bad,
but please
have some perspective,
for the committee meeting
to determine next year’s
flu shots
has been canceled,
so yes, this year’s
flu season has been bad,
but next year’s
next year’s will be worse.

In the newspaper of record
the headline read
“The Covid Alarmists
Were Closer to the Truth
Than Anyone Else,”
and though I suppose
it is flattering
for the newspaper of record
to say we were right,
my friends,
I wish we had been wrong
oh my friends,
how I wish we had been wrong.

I hear
the measles outbreak
is getting worse.

I hear
the H5N1 crisis
is getting worse.

I hear
the quad-demic
is getting worse.

I fear
that this society
is getting worse.

Eventually, the disaster
that was unfolding rapidly
will begin to feel
like it is unfolding slowly,
but you must not allow
this change of pace
to distract you from the fact
that the disaster
is still unfolding.

After years
of pretending
that the current pandemic
isn’t still happening
we are well prepared
we are very well prepared
to pretend
that the next pandemic
isn’t about to happen.