Theresa Yorker
The Virus
How is this America
The Land of the Free,
When so much we do now
We do remotely?
Weddings without family,
Birthdays without guests,
Funerals without loved ones,
Who would have guessed?
Every day gets longer
As shelterings persist.
Pantries grow emptier
As work days are missed.
Students miss their teachers
As they struggle to learn.
Memories are lost forever;
Graduates lose their turn.
Politicians squabble incessantly
With ever-shifting blame,
While nurses provide comfort
With dedication that does not wane.
Even in these dark times
There is still a lot of good:
Neighbors caring for neighbors,
Helping others like we should.
This virus isn’t magic;
It won’t just disappear.
Unless to the guidelines
All of us adhere.
We pray for each other;
We pray for a cure;
We pray that we stay healthy.
We pray to know for sure
That one day this will end,
And the sun again will shine.
We can have people around us
And no more Covid one-nine.
—Submitted on 05/08/2020
Theresa Yorker is a self-described “amateur, unpublished poet.” She writes, “By day I am a business intelligence data engineer who has been working from home since early March listening to too much of the daily news cycle. I was inspired to write this poem observing the vast disconnect between the decision makers and every day Americans struggling to survive.”
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