Days lingered around
Gathered friends, family, rivals,
In groups, maybe thousands
Enjoying sport, music, spectacle,
Ceremony, exposition, oratory,
No worries, shared delight.
How we celebrated things
That brought us peace, smiles,
Companionship, competition,
We were golden, glitter bright
Stars feeling our fortune, filling
Time with all the joy we might.
But
Sometimes our privilege dies
A sudden horrible death
Which consequence we fail
To see in its full gory detail
Until it wraps itself around
Us, a constriction unwilling
To allow us any escape,
Nor let us go, it binds like
A straightjacket, unwanted.
Our homes, always sanctuaries,
Begin that slow movement
Toward a joint solitary confinement
Where nerves are nettled, become
Frayed, days without normal
Occupation become a distance
Difficult to travel hours through.
Now,
For ever-how long, it appears
The culture of the modern world
Has died an ungentle death
Beaten into submission by a virus,
Even more by fear, horror, panic
Of what might happen should
We linger together in the open
In shared embraces and friendly
Touches that communicate more
Than words, our empathy, and care.
Make no mistake, love is not mocked,
It will return us to ourselves for
Through everything it always
Finds a way, I believe love exists
To be our guide when things go gray.
© Jo Ann J. A. Jordan
This is not meant to be dire. The prompt on Poetic Asides today is Elegy, and I think the world will be different when it resumes business as usual.
I hope all of you are doing well and enjoying your weekend. I have been forced to stay off my feet quite a lot today because of my left foot, but I am trying to be up a bit.
As a prompt, explore your vision of what will occur when all the confinements are ended. Create something that expresses your vision.
Haphazard Creative 