You are not alone.
Others, too, have walked this path.

Physically distanced,
yet right there. Or almost. Emotionally
where heartbreak meets uncertainty.

Who hasn’t walked this way?

If not the same direction
perhaps the same purpose.

Never-ending sidewalks
of this filthy society, whatever the place.

Each of us affected
by movement, passive motion or demand.
Broken strides, we continue to try.

Do you experience pain?

Panhandling our feelings,
we all beg for attention.

If not to be noticed,
if only as if to belong somewhere.

Every one of us has
lived through a discomfort. Emotions
will only allow a certain levity.

How can I know your story?

My route has been similar
if it has not been the same.

 

©2020 j.g. lewis

Nothing today wasn’t said yesterday, all that is done,
it will be done again. We repeat similar mistakes day
after day. Our words, or those of someone else, will
haunt us. I am tired of hearing the same things on
a daily basis. Who has died, how many dead, a record
number of cases instead. This disease, the sickness;
the ignorance spreads like a virus.
A deadly pandemic, did you ever imagine? Really?
Eight months in, soon to be nine, we continue hearing
time after time about a soon that does not materialize.
Not much has even changed. Politicians pedal hope
like campaign promises. Even worse than yesterday, or
the day before. Or last week or month. Can we believe
what we are told? Or what we might know?
Few take it seriously. Less even care. Still we mourn
victims from afar. Tears fall like sleet. Too cold to stare,
mine eyes have seen too much grief to give up hope.

© 2020 j.g. lewis

Information, in this pandemic age, is more important than ever.
    For far more than eight months now, the deadly coronavirus has been front and centre on daily, and hourly, newscasts. We listen to the facts and figures. The case count and the death count continue to rise, in many cases (in many regions) to record levels.
   We grow more fearful.
   Much of the information is useful, yet some of if is incorrect or incomplete. Throw in an opinion or two and what we should know, and what we are told, differ greatly.
   More than confusing, misinformation can be deadly.
   With any COVID-19 news you have to consider the source.
   Do you trust the word of a doctor or scientist, or do you take the information proffered by a politician?
   What, or whom, will protect you?
   A doctor is full of medical facts. Indeed, COVID-19 diagnosis and dialogue can, and does, change like the deadly virus we have come to fear (and so we should).
Doctors are realists. They see first-hand what is happening and, true to the nature of the profession, do what they can to treat the disease and the patient to their best abilities.
   Scientists, as well, take facts from trials and experiments and do what they can in their sterile laboratories to analyze and hypothesize and shape answers and opinions to advise what will happen, or could, Or will. Again, guardians of science are realists.
   Politicians on the other hand, by their very nature, are opportunists.
   Everything a politician does is ultimately in their (or their party’s) best interest. Yes, they may preface their advice or information by telling us they have the interests of their constituents at heart. And yes, politicians work with the same medical facts and scientific information currently offered, but do so on a pick-and-choose basis. A politician in power will select the positive news, overlook the less favorable aspects of what we are dealing with, and present what they believe is information we should know.
   It might not be dishonest, but it can be far from the truth.
   At times the explanation offered by a politician is as useful as a facemask discarded on the street.
   It serves no purpose, other than, perhaps, get the politician reelected. This is the reality we are living with.
   This pandemic has become overly politicized while science has been demonized.
   Consider your source. In the case of COVID-19, it might be a matter of life or death.

© 2020 j.g. lewis

The eleventh hour

of the 11^th day, in

this eleventh month. This day

is important, a year we cannot

gather together to remember.

Few of us know of

the days, even less

who remember. We cannot share

close thoughts or memories of

those who sacrificed. For us.

For what we know

now, and that which

we do not appreciate as much as

we could. As much as we should

care even more, as we remember.

 

 

 

11/11/2020                                                   j.g.l.

Should we be surprised at what we woke up to this morning?

Should we be surprised we stayed up to watch?

Should we question the process, or the polls?

Shouldn’t we have expected this?

Shouldn’t we have known the defiance that has marked Donald Trump’s presidency would continue? Didn’t he tell us?

Shouldn’t we have listened?

Shouldn’t we have known? Or should we remain uncertain?