We Must Wear A Real Mask Poem by Hebert Logerie

Under COVID-19, we have no other choice these days
Too many people are dying; we must wear a real mask
When we are walking in the depopulated streets. No plays
No hoax, no jokes, no fun! No need to wonder or to ask
Questions, the new coronavirus is infectious and deadly
And the once happy birds sing sad funeral songs on the lea.

We must wear a mask to protect ourselves all day long
Many of us wear latex gloves, we must wash our hands
With soap for about twenty seconds. We keep our tongue
Hidden. And we must stay home. Friends don't visit friends
This is strange. Even the raccoons are hiding on top of the tree
And the caged birds sing black spiritual folk-songs on the lea.

The hospitals are full of sick people. The morgues are crowded
With dead people on the floor. The morticians are overworked
A major war, a major crisis is going on. The country is divided
The leader is found to be incompetent. He behaves like a real jerk
People wonder how he got elected. COVID-19 is afraid of hot tea
And the people sing sad memorial songs with the birds on the lea.

P.S. This poem is dedicated to Poet Paul Laurence Dunbar and to the victims of COVID-19.

Copyright © April 2020, Hébert Logerie, all rights reserved.
Hébert Logerie is the author of several collections of poems.