“A poem is the very image of life expressed in its eternal truth.”
Percy Bysshe Shelley

Friday, May 29, 2020

What Still Works and Does Not




This bleak pandemic,
unsettling and quite deadly,
claims some positives.


Power grids prevail.
So do phones, internet, mail,
police and fire crews.


For those who can pay,
food supplies mostly arrive,
disruptions short-lived.


With dedication,
medical infrastructure
holds up though tested.


Village in action,
volunteers emerge to help
those needing support.


Despite achieving
moderate integrity,
system faults persist.


Widespread suffering
from lost jobs, lives, and routines
masks inequities.


The plea to expunge
stubborn inequalities
begs for attention.


Fairness when absent
imperils group long-term strength,
thwarting full promise.



Thursday, May 14, 2020

The Long Haul Begins



Pandemic effects
lingering intractably
reframe normalcy.

Once contagion stays,
resilience frays at last.
The long haul begins.

Self-doubt will persist,
fostered by this epic plague's
ominous death toll.

What strength can be mined?
Will one's foundational truths
aid forward movement?

As firm counterweight,
honest doubt hovers throughout
existential angst.

How best to resist?
Premature surrender tempts
even the strong-willed.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

At a Crossroads?



Job and structure loss,
worsened by vast disruptions
frays stability.

Stripped of jobs and means,
workers crave restoration
of earning power.

To survive and grow.
firms strive for financial strength,
light-touch oversight.

Product shortages
disrupt supplies and pricing,
needing correction.

Essential worker
income inequality 
tests priorities.

Poverty's role in
survival disparities
challenges fairness.

Still stunned consumers
staggering from brutal loss,
refrain from spending.

Healthcare providers
seared by unrelenting stress
step back to restore.

The economy,
missing strong participants,
fails to reopen.

Civic leaders caught
by a partisan divide
strain at consensus.

Stressed social contract
invites appraisal to gain
a broad renewal.

Unfolding events
mired in deep uncertainty,
straddle fear and hope.

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Respect for the Supply Chain



Few would survive well
if links in the supply chain
worsened even more.

Uncelebrated,
even in easier times,
the chain sustains us.

Providers include
farmers and fabricators
using transporters.

For optimal reach,
controlling the flow of goods
needs deft management.

Support system strength
buoys chain effectiveness,
its efficiency.

Respect then extends to:
those giving needed support.
A long list follows.

Health, fuel, housing,
schooling, employers, news folk,
customer service.

Charity pantries,
mail, cashiers, homes of worship,
clerks, warehouse workers.

Likely I have missed
links in the vast supply chain.
It is that complex.

All contribute to
providing and consuming,
hopefully in sync.

Saturday, April 18, 2020

Competing Expectations of Stay-at-Home



We have all this time
crying to be productive.
Or we could ease up.

In recovery
from a traumatic event,
downtime may be key.

Covid's lockdown could
qualify as a trauma
to normal living.

Disrupted routines.
death tolls, lost jobs, displaced kids
call for adjustment.

Feeling unsettled
can overwhelm simple tasks
into inaction.

Public service plus
family obligations
may take precedence.

Otherwise let us
tone down grand expectations.
We need time to mend.

Monday, April 13, 2020

Together in This Live Experiment



Unprecedented
magnitude of disruption
hides cloaked in unknowns.

Uncertainty rules.
Dense fog conceals the guideposts
aiding direction.

Trapped unwillingly
in this live experiment,
we adapt to live.

Survival coded
into humanity's drive
favors the fittest.

A growing number
strained by struggles to endure
likely still need help.

Wisdom may elude
leaders caught in the shock waves
of deep upheaval.

We the people though
can embrace the best within
and rise up in strength.

For the greater good,
kindness, mercy, and giving
could rise to the fore.

Thursday, April 9, 2020



Facing My Fears

As I contemplate
this fierce global pandemic, 
questions need answers.

Will I get Covid?
Or could it slay a loved one?
Vulnerable state.

Though lacking symptoms,
have I been struck already
but do not yet know?

Without full testing,
with whom can I meet safely?
Am I locked in fear?

Will this ordeal end?
When and at what cost to all
life as we knew it?

History suggests
we will move on from this scourge,
but at a steep cost.

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Musings While in Isolation



So what am I doing in coronavirus isolation? I write haiku-influenced poetry. I will keep adding more as thoughts arise. Stay safe, all.

………

A World in Lockdown

Abruptly becalmed
routine rushing and striving.
The eerie silence.

Cohabitation
thrust upon the unwilling.
An uneasy fix.

Financial levers
clanking in a spin cycle.
Threatened livelihoods.

Stark trajectory
alarming even the brave.
Menacing unknowns.

Praising the helpers:
food, health, mail, money, civic.
Together we rise.

………

The Unfathomable?

This I fear deeply:
an unchecked unraveling of
the social order.

Could the worst happen?
Breakdowns of support systems
portend more hardship.

In uncertain times,
despots and demagogues ply
their flawed solutions.

Group collective strength
may prevail for good or for bad
Which do we choose now?

May current choices
aid what’s good for the many
and not just a few.

………

Front Line Heroes

Many come forward
risking themselves to sustain
strangers and loved ones.

Their list now includes
doctors, nurses, ship captains,
paramedics too.

Present also are
store clerks and mail carriers.
Truckers contribute.

Civic, finance, tech,
media, spiritual
join with researchers.

Such heroes declare
selfless giving still exists.
Goodness can prevail.

………