You're plastering those numbers
up on the screen again--
every night it's the same goddamn
thing, over and over--
be afraid...be very afraid....
You think you've seized upon
the only thing that matters
or should matter
at this moment in time
because it's about
survival. And yet man
does not live by survival alone.
Cave man, maybe.
But not modern
technologically advanced
and culturally refined man.
We've gone so far past
the instinct to merely survive.
We've built a world out of
inspired visions of what's possible
and learned that it's anything
and everything we can imagine!
And I can assure you
that on a personal
level it's about quality.
Not quantity.
It's not good enough
to merely survive anymore.
And all your white--knuckled
fear mongering--
your constant
sound the alarm
sound the alarm
like somebody's car being broken
into down in the alley
late at night...
Shut that goddamn thing off already!
We get it.
Because I can assure you
that on a personal level--
and I know I speak not
only for myself--there have
to be millions of a like mind
thinking this very same thing
right now...
that if this is the way
it's going to be
from this day forward...
if this is the world we're bequeathing
to our children
and grandchildren
then who needs it?
Who fucking needs it?
Really.
https://poetsandstorytellersunited.blogspot.com/
As people succeed so they also fail; that is life. We have a few years to do our best but but first we must learn by our mistakes! Nineteen is a good time to take things seriously.
ReplyDeleteThis poem was written in the passion and the emotions of the moment. As all good poetry, I believe, is.
DeleteSounds like you're coming around to saying, 'OK, 19, go for it; you might as well.'
ReplyDeleteSome of us are still in a state of shock at how easily the fabric of our lives was ripped to shreds, and we did it to ourselves through mass panic and hysteria and a naive trust in authoritative voices, and an reluctance to acknowledge that life--if it is to be truly lived--involves determining an acceptable level of risk and carrying on, not cowering in our basements until the "all clear" sounds. We are never going hear the all clear, like a WW II siren going off, again. Just like the rest of the world where things had been more precarious than here (the U.S.), at least up until now (you could be shopping at an outdoor market and BOOM your life is ended in a suicide bombing) that level of acceptable risk must be built in and we adapt, but we go on--not trash all the traditions and things we've held sacred for so long--the things that bring joy and respite into people's lives--sports, movies, a night out for a romantic candlelight dinner--in the name of "safety," for which there is and will never a guarantee in this life, and in the process diminish ourselves to frightened Neanderthals cowering in our caves when we hear the roar of the tiger somewhere in the neighborhood.
DeleteSomewhere between threat and reality lies common sense. It's highly recommended and often ignored.
ReplyDeleteMy point EXACTLY! We need more people like you...and me :)
DeleteRight on Tim ... RIGHT ON!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Helen. You get it. You get it.
DeleteIt's certainly not easy to remain hopeful in times like these.
ReplyDeleteYeah. And yet we don't HAVE to leave this kind of a world to succeeding generations. One can still harbor hope that cooler and more enlightened heads and minds prevail.
DeleteMy tolerance level for the fear-mongering, the lies being told by politicians and the conflicting "science" was over before the shutdowns began.
ReplyDeleteAll I've ever asked for is truth. Where there are politicians, follow the money trail and you'll figure out what the agenda is.
I totally agree. Show me the money!
DeleteLately, I am not in the best of places regarding this--I think our lives have been upended--certainly, the way I make money and support myself is gone--classical singing is just not coming back anytime soon--but this will pass and I am determined to be here when it does--
ReplyDeleteThat's the spirit, Audrey. And it ain't over till the fat lady sings :)
DeleteSeems... we are now in 1984.
ReplyDeleteI do believe we've been stuck there ever since the actual date. Festive greetings to you just the same!
DeleteVerse 3 is my favourite. Happy Sunday
ReplyDeleteMuch💖love
Always nice to hear from you, Gillena!
DeleteWe ask to be entertained and fear is...compelling entertainment. Until it isn't.
ReplyDeleteIt holds us on the edge of our seats...until we fall off.
DeleteThis poem was so real. It is just not enough for us to survive. And the news everyday shows how low humanity can stoop. We really dont know how to live. Even when we are fighting for survival against a virus, humans haven't stopped their wars. In fact, they are starting new ones. Incredulous!
ReplyDeleteYou speak truth. I don't know anyone who thinks that simple survival is good enough if it means giving up our cherished institutions and traditions--indeed our whole way of life. The wars will always be there because we are an aggressive species who kill out of every possible reason OTHER than survival---like the animals--for reasons that mostly boil down to greed.
DeleteComing late to this poem...I get it. I like it. If I'd lived in town I would probably have been posting stuff like it.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I live in the hills above a small town, where we put on masks when we went out and otherwise kept things fairly normal. The restaurant that closed permanently *also* lost its roof in a thunderstorm. The people who actually died of coronavirus were not expected to get out of bed again in any case. The people who lost money (I'm certainly one!) look forward to better years to come.
I wonder to what extent common sense, and the ability to do quarantine without the insanity, are rural and small-town things.