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POETRY IN THE PLAGUE YEAR

Poems written during the Coronavirus Outbreak 2020

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John D Robinson

Hastings East Sussex UK

John D Robinson is a UK poet: hundreds of his poems have appeared online and in print: he has published several chapbooks and a handful of full collections: 'Red Dance' was recently published by 'Uncollected Press' USA: a poem has recently appeared in 'The Ragged Lion Press' Journal #2: he was nominated for a 2019/2020 Pushcart Prize.

Poem completed 17th April 2020

 

ITALY: COVID-19: STORY

 

He walked into the supermarket

and filled the hand-basket with

food and then queued, keeping

to the social-distancing

guidance:

at the checkout he explained

that he had no money to pay

for the food but he and his

family needed the food: he

was not threatening or

aggressive in any way, pitiful,

humble, even pathetic:

security was called and he

was escorted out of the store

empty handed:

what the would you

have done?

this is a tough one

but I’m soft so

possibly would have said

to the guy look, come back

in 3 hours and I’ll try

and have something

for you and then maybe

asked for donations from

colleagues and customers:

could you have gone home

taking the face of this

man with you?

 

 

with daffodils

 to the bedside

of an ailing patient

gasping on

a respirator

Spring comes round

reluctantly .

 

chronically uncomfortable

in my skin what

 is there to do but

 plant beans place

 in sun wait

seven days until

 it happens.

 

shoots quietly explode

the soft soil bed

steady themselves

sink tensile  roots

life support  systems

mutually assured

but none of us breathe easy

 

everything on  this

 fiery planet depends

upon the meekest

of uprisings  atoms

become oaks - bring oxygen

 revolution of the stars 

bring seasons photosynthesis

 

tell the bees

we’re sorry

 we don’t have

 enough  respirators

to go round so

what is there to do now

 but to hold our breath?