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POETRY IN THE PLAGUE YEAR

Poems written during the Coronavirus Outbreak 2020

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John Lepine

Stockport, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom

 

John retired last year from his full-time job as a trade association leader in Britain and in Europe. He is a prolific prose writer and has contributed articles to many publications. Occasionally, he tries to write poetry.

 

Date poem was completed 15th June 2020

 

Reflection a word, my reflections a stanza or two

 

Shit happens

It always has

It always will

 

Finding it June

Is not difficult

It is easily identifiable

 

Once found

Dealing with it

Can be difficult – messy

 

The colour is familiar

The texture is horrid

And it smells

 

We were alerted

We looked

But we found nothing

 

No smell

No feel

Nothing to see

 

But it was here

And there and there

It was deadly

 

Corona - fizzy pop

Corona - Mexican beer

Corona - deadly virus

 

And so, we learned

a new way

To use language

 

Locked down meant

We were all locked up

In our own homes

 

Furloughed for months

Who knew it meant eighty percent?

I knew a furlong to go was not far

 

Self-isolate, isolated or isolating

You are on your own

Or with some others?

 

R is a language for statistical computing

R is what Long John Silver said to Jim lad

R more than one equals exponential rise in deaths

 

PPE vital stuff for safety

Use once throw away

How much landfill is that?

 

Social distancing

Can you be sociable at a distance?

You must, touching may be too much

 

Shielders shielding the shielded

Transplant recipients on immunosuppressants

Cancer sufferers with immunodeficiency

 

Sunlight and disinfectant

Will kill the infection.

Some in the USA swallowed it

 

Zoom rocket shaped ice lolly

Zoom virtual meeting place

Zoom keeping in touch but not touching

 

War time spirit

It’s a wonderful thing

Do we have to have the war?

 

We don’t like rule breakers

Lockdown speeding (new offence?)

151 on the M62

 

We don’t like Spad rule breakers

New test for uncorrected defective vision

Fill car with family and drive

 

Track and trace

Best in Europe but

Not as good as South Korea

 

Bubbles social or what?

There for West Ham fans

I’m having none of that

 

The new normal

Not normal

Normal one day maybe