Would a poem help? No. 2

If you were asked it in a poem
Would you promise to stay home?
A poem is quiet
and humble
Not an order barked by a politician on a soap box or a
shrill bitch shouting “HEY YOU – GET YOUR ASS HOME!”
So if you were asked nicely, pretty please
in a poem
would you stay home then?

You must stay home. If you can.

If you were cautioned in a poem
that
perhaps your behavior is dangerous
That you could be infected
and not even know it
That you could be spreading the virus
and not even know it
Would it sound less angry or bossy
if you were cautioned in a poem?

You are not immune.

If I suggested to you in a poem
that you are not smarter than the epidemiologists
or the public health professionals
or the doctors
or the nurses
or the patients who wound up sick, like you might too
Would it seem less high and mighty
or less who-does-she-think-she-is-telling-me-what-to-do
if I suggested this in a poem?

This is not a hoax. You do not know better.

If I were to plead with you in a poem
that we are not doomed
yet
That it is not too late
yet
That we can still “flatten the curve”
We can save ourselves
Save our neighbors
Save our world
Would it seem less frightening
Would you be less likely to turn away
If my plea came to you in a poem?

It is not too late.

Would a poem help?
If so,
I would happily write a poem.

©Rebecca Larson 2020

Photo of Lake Bled in Slovenia, October 2019. A beautiful and calm place.