plaguepoems

plaguepoems, 4 days ago to random

A “massive outbreak”
of avian influenza
amongst elephant seals
(in Peninsula Valdes, Argentina)
is seen as increased evidence
that transmission can occur
from mammal-to-mammal
and though this does not mean
mammal-to-human
or human-to-human
it doesn’t mean
that everything is fine.

plaguepoems, 4 days ago to random

Take the good news
when you can get it,
the CDC data
shows cases and deaths
are currently low
so allow yourself
some guarded hope,
you must take the good news
when you can get it,
for soon you’ll remember
that since May
hospitals no longer need
to report COVID data to the CDC.

plaguepoems, 5 days ago to random

When they tell you
(and they will tell you)
that trying to protect yourself
is just a waste of time
politely explain
that the wastewater data
from several states
shows virus concentrations
are again on the rise
and you don’t want to add
to that waste at this time.

plaguepoems, 5 days ago to random

My brother-in-law
sent me an opinion piece
(from the paper of record)
offering five points
purportedly showing
how the pandemic
started in a laboratory,
so I asked him
what steps he was taking
to protect himself
from this lab escapee,
and I could tell
he did not like my question

plaguepoems, 5 days ago to random

Citing recent studies
pointing to a link
between the virus
and cognitive decline
the headline stated
“COVID-19 will make you
stupid”
and while the danger
of cognitive decline is serious
I am more concerned
with how this pandemic
has made so many of us
cruel.

plaguepoems, 6 days ago to random

Be careful with your words
if you throw around
a term like “disaster”
people will just accuse you
of crying wolf
please, be careful,
don’t say “it’s a disaster”
please, be specific,
say: the Governor of Iowa
had declared a disaster
in Cherokee County
due to an avian flu outbreak.

plaguepoems, 6 days ago to random

Please, do not worry,
though it is behind a mask
I promise you
that I have not forgotten
how to smile
yes, I know, I know,
I need to find joy
but right now I am busy
trying to find my way
through this pandemic.

plaguepoems, 8 days ago to random

Apologies
but polite complacency
will not save you,
stop trying to learn
to live with the virus,
it will only take advantage
of your earnest attempts
to accommodate it
in your daily life,
stop trying to learn
to live with the virus
devote yourself instead
to outliving it.

plaguepoems, 8 days ago to random

My colleague keeps telling me
that always wearing a mask
is bad for my immune system
and though I say nothing
I am tempted to remind him
that of the two of us
I am not the one
who is always getting sick.

A compendium of the 219th week of plague poems…

https://librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2024/05/31/plague-poems-the-two-hundred-and-nineteenth-week/

plaguepoems, 8 days ago to random

When I asked my aunt
the doctor
how worried I should be
about the third case
of a dairy worker contracting
avian influenza
she explained it is important
to understand
that the third case detected
does not mean
there are only three cases,
and I found this to be
a worrisome answer.

plaguepoems, 9 days ago to random

The headline stated
that due to the new variants
“you will catch Covid again”
and though I recognize
that my words
have less reach than a headline
please understand
that it is not that“you will”
but rather that “you might”
so you might as well try
not to catch it.

plaguepoems, 9 days ago to random

I am not panicking
no, I am not panicking,
for the experts insist
that even now
with three confirmed cases
the risk remains low
however, I am worrying
yes, I am worrying
for even now
I can still remember
back when there were only
three confirmed cases
of COVID-19.

plaguepoems, 9 days ago to random

I asked my friend
the historian
how this day will be remembered
and after a moment she replied
that she is worried
today’s most significant event
might turn out to be
a sick dairy worker
experiencing respiratory symptoms.

plaguepoems, 9 days ago to random

You must not panic
in response to the news
that a third person
has contracted avian influenza,
no, the time to panic
is not in this moment
in which each new case
is a newsworthy event,
no, you will know
that it is time to panic
when we start to lose count
of all the new cases.

plaguepoems, 9 days ago to random

According to a recent study
years after initial infection
COVID can cause
new health problems to appear
which is a reminder
that we will be learning
to live with this virus
for a very long time.

plaguepoems, 10 days ago to random

Listen, everyone knows,
if you mess with the bull
you get the horns
but these sick dairy cows
are not bulls
and so it is obvious
we don’t need to worry
about getting the horns,
no, we don’t need to worry
about getting the horns,
we need to worry
about getting something worse.

plaguepoems, 10 days ago to random

My aunt, the doctor,
told me a joke.
She asked:

How bad is it
right now?

I said I did not know.
So she said:

It’s so bad
that when you see the headline
“Officials investigate
unusual surge in flu viruses
in Northern California”
you pray
it’s just Covid.

And I didn’t laugh.

plaguepoems, 10 days ago to random

The article woefully noted
“progress in heart failure deaths
reversed over past decade”
with COVID as a likely culprit,
and though I know
this isn’t what they meant
I can’t help but think
“heart failure deaths”
is a good way of describing
the lives lost
to our lack of empathy.

plaguepoems, 10 days ago to random

He has a bad cold
really, more of a case of the flu,
but he insists it’s nothing
it’s not a big deal
after all, he insists, that everyone
always gets sick
with a bad cold or flu
at the start of the summer
and before I can stop myself
I reply: no, they don’t.

plaguepoems, 11 days ago to random

According to the news
millions of chickens
in Iowa
will have to be killed
due to avian influenza
meanwhile
according to the news
numerous chickens
in Honduras
have died
due to extreme heat
but if you express
worry or concern
about either event
people will call you
chicken.

plaguepoems, 11 days ago to random

The ecologist warned
that it is a dangerous thing
how avian influenza
is infecting mammals
currently dairy cows
but also seals and sea lions
foxes and otters
badgers and skunks
squirrels and bears
and though the risk to you
at this time is low
remember:
you too are a mammal.

plaguepoems, 11 days ago to random

Let’s be honest:
the merchandise at concerts
costs far too much
45 dollars for a t-shirt,
75 dollars for a sweatshirt,
30 dollars for a poster,
too much too much too much
but by far the most costly
souvenir you can leave with
is a case of the virus.

plaguepoems, 11 days ago to random

You have probably heard
that the poor mice
who were fed raw milk
contaminated with bird flu
became infected with the virus
but, please, do not worry
those unfortunate mice
were deliberately fed
contaminated milk
and surely no humans
would be foolish enough
to consume such milk.

plaguepoems, 11 days ago to random

My friend
(the one in academia)
keeps droning on about
the collapse
of the academic job market
and though I try to sympathize
and though I try to listen
I keep getting distracted
by all the evidence
that we are in the midst of
the collapse
of the world as we knew it.

plaguepoems, 11 days ago to random

From a prominent scientist
I have heard it said
that another pandemic
is “absolutely inevitable”
and while I suppose,
in a historic sense, it is true,
that another pandemic
is “absolutely inevitable”
that does not mean that we
should be trying to provoke one.