The Pandemic of 2020
I’ve been working on trying to say something (after all I am a poet)
for the last 3 weeks..to find the words for these extraordinary times..
My muse seems, besides practicing distancing, has now locked herself in quarantine,
in some place unknown to me.
I was remembering when we used to hug…
We hugged our kids and each other and neighbors and our friends..
I find myself now practicing an Arab greeting of putting my hand over my heart
as I stand 6 feet away telling them, with this gesture, how much they mean to me..
but don’t come any closer.
And what is happening in New York, for me so far away,
reminds me of something else that happened in New York,
that fateful 2001 day.…
but instead of an instant day of horror, 2020 is doing it another way…
in a loop. a slow motion crescendo of death and lives destroyed, spread all over the state
and doctors crying in the corridors and where are the masks, the ventilators ?
Oh my god….is this really happening?
This year we see New York imploding on itself
with bodies piling up in refrigerator trucks and..
Oh my god….. is this really happening?
In 2020 a new word must be invented..something that impacts more than surreal,
because that word, SURREAL, is now flying out of people’s mouths in tatters ,
being used and overused by everyone .
I open my eyes and still whisper it to myself…”surreal “…
but it doesn’t say, what I want it to say.
I sleep at night worrying about who has the ventilators , what do we do when all those courageous healthcare workers just sit down and cry in their hands all together
because the enormity of their task is….. TOO Enormous!
For the next 4 days we can’t drive a car, and although all I now hear are birds and wind,
where before trucks using their j-brakes were negotiating my hill,
so loudly they would wake me up in the middle of the night,
I find this end of the world feeling, both beautiful, peaceful and frightening.
There must be another word…..besides surreal.. to describe the Easter of 2020…
with The Ramadan of Our Pandemia approaching…
Spring gave birth to scenes of sickness, death and tears,
As I wasn’t alive in 1918, I don’t remember anything like this or those years
but in 2020 with my eyes wide open, a hole in my heart, my face iced in tears
I pray we learn to value life and those who give- up themselves to save it,
while we make our small sacrifice of staying at home, to do our part for the human race.
En Español
He estado tratando de decir algo (después de todo, soy poeta)
durante las últimas 3 semanas … para encontrar las palabras para estos tiempos extraordinarios …
Parece que mi musa, además de practicar el distanciamiento, se ha encerrado en cuarentena,
En algún lugar desconocido para mí.
Estaba recordando cuando solíamos abrazarnos …
Nos abrazamos a nuestros hijos, a los demás, a los vecinos y a nuestros amigos.
Ahora me encuentro practicando un saludo árabe de poner mi mano sobre mi corazón.
mientras estoy a 6 pies de distancia diciéndoles, con este gesto, cuánto significan para mí,
pero no te acerques más.
Y lo que está pasando en Nueva York, para mí tan lejos,
me recuerda algo más que sucedió en Nueva York,
ese fatídico día de 2001 …
pero en lugar de un día instantáneo de horror, 2020 lo está haciendo de otra manera …
en un bucle una cámara lenta de crescendo de muerte y vidas destruidas, esparcidas por todo el estado
y doctores llorando en los pasillos y dónde están las máscaras, los ventiladores?
Dios mío … ¿está sucediendo esto realmente?
Este año vemos a Nueva York implosionándose
con cuerpos amontonados en camiones frigoríficos y ..
Dios mío … ¿está sucediendo esto realmente?
En 2020 se debe inventar una nueva palabra … algo que impacta más que surrealista,
porque esa palabra, SURREAL, ahora está volando de la boca de la gente hecha jirones,
siendo usado y usado en exceso por todos.
Abro los ojos y todavía me lo susurro … “surrealista” …
pero no dice lo que quiero que diga.
Duermo por la noche preocupándome por quién tiene los ventiladores, qué hacemos cuando todos esos valientes trabajadores de la salud simplemente se sientan y lloran en sus manos.
porque la enormidad de su tarea es … ¡DEMASIADO enorme!
Durante los próximos 4 días no podremos conducir un automóvil, y aunque ahora todo lo que escucho son pájaros y viento,
donde antes los camiones que usaban sus frenos j negociaban mi colina,
tan fuerte que me despertarían en medio de la noche
Encuentro este sentimiento del fin del mundo, hermoso, pacífico y aterrador.
Debe haber otra palabra … además de surrealista … para describir la Pascua de 2020 …
con el Ramadán de Nuestra Pandemia acercándose …
Como no estaba vivo en 1918, no recuerdo nada de esto o de esos años.
pero en 2020 con los ojos bien abiertos, un agujero en mi corazón, mi cara helada en lágrimas
Ruego que aprendamos a valorar la vida y a aquellos que se rinden para salvarla,
mientras hacemos nuestro pequeño sacrificio de quedarnos en casa, para hacer nuestra parte por la raza humana.
April 8, 2020
Costa Rica
Digital Rabbit Hole 
Wow, yes. Beautiful, peaceful and frightening, indeed. You’ve captured this, still indescribable, feeling, so well.
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Aww Dale, thank you..I always feel i could have captured it better, so much more to mention, the jobless, the foodless, but maybe in another poem..
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The accompanying photo speaks volumes to the heart and mind! Your words are beautifully expressed in the way you describe how confusing this time seems to be ((hugs)). Though I wasn’t a witness to the 1918 pandemic either, from the little that I have seen and read – history repeats itself, What’s surreal to us is… prophetic? You, dear Sissy-Poo, have bridged the quarantined ‘distance’ to touch us all with your gifted poetic flow.
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Ohhh Sis!! Your words mean a lot…I have not been able to say anything as I explain in my poem..The times are so extraordinary, I lose the words to even try to touch what this all feels like..Yes I LOVE that image.. I had seen it on fb and when I wrote this poem, I searched it out…What they (our healthcare angels) do for us every hour of the day..!!!t he world warriors fighting one battle..It’s mind blowing..and all we have to do is just stay home and stop it from spreading.. Hugs you tight Sissy…Stay safe and well…
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Karima, your brilliance shines in this deeply emotive piece. You’ve captured the essence of horrific worldwide human suffering which will be felt for decades. The image itself speaks volumes of medical professionals who have literally put their lives on the line. What I find especially nauseating are those profiting from this holocaust. Come judgement day, I certainly hope they’ll be held accountable for their crimes against humanity. Thank you for shedding light on this pandemic.
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Thank you so much Lance..This is on such a global scale, so unprecedented in our lifetimes, I still feel I am not finding the words I really need, to express the horror, sadness and admiration and love for those who are in the front-lines of this Viral World War. I agree with you..sadly, there are those right now, thinking how they can make an extra $ off of the world’s suffering…Unbelievable and as you say, nauseating!!
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A very sincere pleasure, Karima. I really don’t believe one could find all the words/adjectives to clearly define this pandemic. The world was completely caught off-guard and it’s kicking our butts. If we don’t learn something from this, then our sickness will be worse than the virus.
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Your words are so sadly true! But we are awake now..so I choose to believe we will prevail!!
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