The Not So Quiet Virus
By Brittany Whitley
The sirens sound as the silence in the city
brushes quietly against the tall buildings.
“Nobody move!”
Law enforcement posted at every light,
waiting for an anxious walker to emerge.
“I’m on my way home, officer!”
Anxiety creeps up the apartment ceilings;
the walls are closing in all at once.
“Please mom, let me ride to work with you.”
Stores are closed, so stock up on bread, water, can foods, toilet paper.
A literal war zone, fighting for scraps and receiving even less.
“Lockdown!”
The freedom we took for granted is gone,
with no way of knowing if it will return.
“Do not leave your homes!”
A new way of living that no one asked for,
no one can bear the heartache of the new life we were thrown into.
“I can’t do this anymore.”
A system that leaves us hopeless.
But the new hopelessness is becoming too regular,
Getting used to a system of life that seems never-ending.
“Wear gloves and spray the mail before you come in the house, sweetie.”
A virus busts through the door, loud and uninvited.
Like a burglar, it sneaks in and steals more than material things,
It steals the souls of families one-by-one.
When can we wake up from the not so quiet virus?
A Pandemic for the history books.
Global, with collateral damage and mental hardship.
A war that is both civil and international.
“ I can tell my kids, I have lived through 9/11 and Coronavirus.”