Shreds Of Dread Poem by John Sensele

News from the frontline sounds grim
Death numbers doubled in New York
Reality stoic minds can't trim
Neither can the smell of death cheat the stork

Who can't hug or bury dead relatives
Covid nineteen cadavers claim
Snatching emotions and adjectives
From anguish so deep it's got no name

Hotspots worldwide compete
For ventilators, face masks and PP equipment
But medical heroes though exhausted won't quit
Though confinement in an eerie encampment

Sends cold cracks down celebrated spines
Wondering whether shift will end well
Given morbid moments coronavirus defines
If entering home doors retains the traditional sentimental spell and scale.