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.

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.

Competing Expectations of Stay-in-Place

 We have all this time

crying to be productive.

Or we could just chill.

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.

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 these 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.

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.

Musings While in Isolation

So how am I spending my time while in coronavirus isolation? I write haiku-influenced poetry. I will keep adding more as new thoughts arise. Stay safe, all.

.....

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.

.....