In December of 2019 a new strain of the coronavirus was discovered in Wuhan, China. This is being called covid-19. This virus can cause severe illness, especially among people over 60 years of age. It quickly spread from country to country until at the time of this writing there were 103,321 cases documented in the US alone and there have been 1,668 deaths. As a result, people have been asked to not congregate in large groups and when out stay at least 6 feet apart. We are not having church services and the temples are all closed down. Many places including Utah have issued “stay at home” or “stay safe” orders. As I sit at home and think about the request to stay 6 feet apart I have been thinking about how many people have been living their own isolation orders for years. This poem was a result my musings.
Gale L. Wolfenbarger
28 March 2020
Lend me your ear and you will hear how the world pulled back in fear
Of a disease so chilling it left us unwilling to gather with family so dear.
Shelter in place and mind your own space if you think yourself so smart.
Don’t gather in groups or parties or troops or at least keep six feet apart.
We can’t go to church though for comfort we search at this time that brings us such dread.
We pray in our homes and never do roam, “stay inside” our leaders have pled.
You can shop if you dare though the shelves are all bare for some in fear do hoard.
For years we’ve been told of a time we’d behold when we’d live on what we have stored.
Hospitals too now limit just who can receive the care that they need.
This bug now among us and caused such a fuss can spread with incredible speed.
But can this virus be blamed for all that is claimed, was it not so right from the start?
When the people we meet and then fail to greet what was it that kept us apart.
Can we now say that germs in their way were the things that made us stand back?
Or is it just love that we’re taught from above or compassion the things that we lack?
When the panic has ceased and we sit at our feast and celebrate then a fresh start
Will we find that we’ve grown in what we have known or are we still six feet apart?
Gale L. Wolfenbarger
28 March 2020
Copyright © 2020 Gale
L. Wolfenbarger