; Solomon Eagle Striding Through Plague Ridden London with Burning Coals on His Head, Trying to Fumigate the Air; Wellcome Collection; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/solomon-eagle-striding-through-plague-ridden-london-with-burning-coals-on-his-head-trying-to-fumigate-the-air-239339
In an abundance of caution,
Density reducing,
I stay at home.
I keep my social distance
Leave bleach and hand sanitizer
on the shelves of the supermarket
so others can keep virus free
and not infect me
via the shopping cart,
the self-serve checkout line and card reader.
I am lucky
I do not need to venture out
to meet and greet and travel and talk.
I check my soap supply and wash my hands.
In an abundance of caution.
Contagion mitigation
I keep my social distance
Knuckle on the elevator button.
Arm on the handrail to the subway
Shoulder twitch my greeting.
Don’t touch my face.
And wash my hands.
In an abundance of caution
I see I have books to read and things to do
Inside should isolation be required.
Extra cat litter – you never know which panic may take hold.
And freeze a pack of spinach and some sausage.
Buy anchovies and olive oil.
Just the thing with pasta if you must
social distance from the shops.
In an abundance of caution.
Awake on these mild and moonlit nights –
so quiet you cannot hear the gathering storm –
the virus creeps and spreads then leaps –
an invading army into the city, over the hills,
up the valley, across the river, inexorable.
Jumps oceans and prairies in a single bound.
Panzers rolling into Belgium.
Stukas overhead and dusty roads
filled with weary refugees
pushing prams and bearing bundles.
One by one the schools close.
Online learning-
The big disruption is here.
Rallies cancelled. Travel only if you must.
New Rochelle shut down.
Watchful unease settles over us.
The phony war, waiting, new rules, preparation
and shelves stripped of Purell.
In an abundance of caution.
We retreat to the multisyllabic from Latin or French.
Virus, community, transmission,
Contamination, containment,
Mitigate, confine
Infection exponential
Pandemic potential
Contagion, infection
Isolate and sanitize
Disinfect and sterilize
Dis-ease.
Locked down Italy gave us quarantine.
Germanic for what we really think:
Fuck this shit.
And everyone is an expert and no one knows anything.
And the puppets – dear Doris and Bonald –
lying liars lying lies lyingly.
An abundance of incompetence: Caution:
Wash your hands
And just last year the two hours to get through
Rome airport the lines were so long and
twelve deep waiting for
selfies at the Trevi Fountain.
Now empty, echoing streets all hunkered down
In an abundance of caution.
hoping for reprieve.
Wash your hands, keep your distance,
An abundance of common sense.
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Will Innisfree Gardens open? Is nature serving you well? I am off to the magnolia glade at Kew Gardens once a week, while it's still open. And re greetings, the wink is a good one. Watch and listen to la nonna Italiana: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=211&v=Ey08XMOisiw&feature=emb_logo (make sure it doesn't leap on to the one with her and her grandsons - the coronavirus advice is the one to watch.
Greetings from the social distanced and hunkered.
Innisfree opens for Daffodil Viewing Weekends: Saturday–Sunday April 25–26, and May 2–3.
Real opening day is May 9.
Assuming it does open.
And yes - Nonna is perfect!
I have heard that phrase over and over and loved that you put it into this meditation.
And as a result of that 'over and over' it is now rendered meaningless. And now we have to 'socially distance' if we want to communicate.
I thought this was brilliant, but I have to disagree with you about the "lack of sane political leadership at the highest level". I think that our politicians are aware of the situation and don't want to promote more fear and anxiety than is necessary. Making people anxious and afraid isn't going to help the situation - we still need to live not just exist and we need to be sensible and aware of what is going on around us. I personally am not panic buying toilet rolls or pasta but if that makes people feel better, so be it. There is still much beauty in the world to be enjoyed and I shall continue to do just that.
It may be different in the UK although from afar I have not been impressed by what is coming from 10, Downing Street. Perhaps I need to pay closer attention.
Here in the US, the political leadership at the Federal level (aka Republicans in Washington and White House) has been full of lies, disinformation and outright nonsense.
That said - there are many political voices helping the public make sense of this crisis and trying to provide accurate and essential information. Senator Warren for example and former VP Biden. Plus some wonderful Congressional leaders - Nancy Pelosi and Katie Porter come to mind.
Here in NY - as in many other places - the political leadership has stepped up in responsible ways and shown what we need to see in a time of crisis.
Thanks you your comment. Always welcome. And may we all survive this crisis to thrive and do better going forward.
Thanks Maureen. Floreat semper all of us!
Lots and lots of daffs shining out and strong wind making selfies from Cromer Pier look scary!!
Anxiety manifests itself in many ways. Cant get a toilet roll here because people have been bulk buying. Others just got into complete denial and anger not facing up to the reality of any sort of bug. Others create a blog which gives an historical perspective. Some stay away from close social contact with others as far as they can and enjoy what that brings. This includes laying in bed in a sunny room in Norfolk with the day at my disposal and writing a response to a cherished friends blog. Perhaps we will all learn something useful from all this. Meanwhile sane political leadership would help protect us so more can live to benefit from it. Meanwhile do the best we as individuals can to prevent its spread. Hats off to anyone doing this.
No bog roll is really silly. But - as you probably grew up on Izal you will find a way to cope. Trouble with using the Daily Express might be the sewer system. As for learning something - well, maybe. Basically that we are all in it together and that bugs are no respecters of individuals. Enjoy having the cobwebs blown away and the daffodils must be about to shine. And yes - hats off to all those staying sane and doing their best not to pass the infection around to others.
I like this. Thank you. Anxiety is supposed to stifle creativity, so hope that means you are not anxious. We need lots of creativity now.
Any anxiety I have is focussed on the lack of sane political leadership at the highest level. Meanwhile I see school and other organization leaders step up and do what they need to do to protect their communities. And I thank them.