covidean

i read a new word today: Covidean.
someone that has died from Civid-19.
i read about protesters in Michigan
and Huntington Beach, CA.
i read about beaches being opened
in Jacksonville FL.
i read about the rich escaping on
magnificent yachts.
i read about burial grounds in public spaces
all across the country.
i read about a hoax and truth, and a
president out of his mind, in denial.
i read about how we have many months
before we re-open the world.
i read about isolation and quarantine,
about suicide and loneliness.
i read about ventilators and flattening the curve,
about nurses pleading for help.
i read about how the world will never
be the same
and
i hope that is true.

we need change,
we need hope,
we need to be able
to trust the air,

we breathe.

Jack Henry is a writer/editor based in Southern California. Recent publications can be found in Raven’s Cage, Horror Sleaze Trash, Red Fez, Rusty Truck, Dope Fiend Daily, Smoking Typewriter, Fearless, among others, He is also editor of Heroin Love Songs and 1870 Press. A new book, Driving W/Crazy, will be available in the Fall of 2020 from Punk Hostage Press. Read other articles by Jack.