Revised Poem: LIKE IT ISN’T HAPPENING

 

The jackhammer pounding 

Of government, industry, media

Repeat the same propaganda:

Get back to normal 

Go back to work

It’s mild, they say

Five days at home are enough

 

We haven’t licked this disease yet

Hell, there’s no Omicron vaccine until maybe March

People are filling hospital beds again

But by all means, reclaim normal

We’re giving away half our N95 stockpile

Only four tests a month via USPS

Ready or not, we’ll tempt you to 

Go back to the mall, hang out, shop

We might put up warning signs

But we’re not the mask police

Be normal again

But don’t blame us when you get sick

 

 

 

New Poem: ONE MORE LOCKDOWN

 into the submarine again

 doing my best to stay clear 

 of the bodyjacking Delta and Omicron

 seeing just one other person

 unless it’s time to leave for provisions

 staying clear of those grocery aisles 

 where people still take off masks

 to talk on their cell phones

 >

 thanks to a belligerent one-third of a nation

 we’re going into year three of unnecessary hell

New Poem: What Will I Do Today (Omicron Edition)

Wake up mid-morning 

Make a list of what is needed

Decide what necessities are nearby 

Put on my tight fitting N95 mask

Erect a window for only necessary pursuits 

The window must have exact proportions 

Because there are only a few non-peak hours

>

Mid-afternoon , return home

With mild fatigue from two hours activity

Take my doses of maintenance medication 

Think about tomorrow 

Hope for a better year to come

Best Films/TV of 2021: Third Draft

 In no specific order:

 JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH 

 THE SPARKS BROTHERS

 LAST NIGHT IN SOHO 

 HOLLER

 SUMMER OF SOUL

 NO SUDDEN MOVE

 HACKS

 THE BEATLES: GET BACK

 ANNETTE

 HOUSE OF GUCCI

 THE VELVET UNDERGROUND 

 BENEDETTA 

 MALIGNANT 

 LANDSCAPERS

 Honorable Mention: THE CARD COUNTER/PASSING/THE NIGHT HOUSE/THE LAST DUEL/THE HARDER THEY FALL/CANDYMAN 2021/BELFAST/NIGHTMARE ALLEY 2021/WEST SIDE STORY 2021/SPENCER/THE LOST DAUGHTER/HALSTON

New Poem: FAREWELL 2021 RAMBLE

 it’s all over now as we continue to live in a house divided which cannot stand as it is but one-third of a nation still thinks they’re doing just fine thank you and yes it was the kind of a year (as Mel Torme used to sing on a nostalgic TV show) where people in government made unforced errors regarding the spread of coronavirus variants and kept their jobs and the president at least got infrastructure passed but voting rights for all was deemed something lesser, perhaps something to fundraise off of this year until the midterms arrive and don’t forget the fundraising off of let’s have a majority of Democrats who will still most likely default to Oh Dear! What Will the Republicans think?

meanwhile the sonic firework booms detonate outside and some of us are ready to hunker down one more  time and stay in our fallout shelters until both January and/or Omicron ends

how well or poorly will we fare for this the second full year of living with instead of vanquishing plague