For today’s prompt over at dVerse, Victoria Slotto invited us to, “take a few moments to think about your own passions—what is it that most inspires, excites, outrages, motivates you. Write a poem in which you let your convictions, your issues bleed onto the canvas of your keyboard. Allow your voice to thunder forth.”
And I tried… in my former post, but the formatting was very confusing so I am posting this poem instead.
Until further notice
stay inside
shelter in place
ordinary is suspended until further notice
lockdown everything except
dunkin donuts which will remain open
offering coffee and sustenance to police
by special request.
It is the same and yet different
stop going to work
stop going to school
stop sirens and helicoptors
listen to the silent pause
hope waiting in the dark
peace in hiding.
Resolve to obey orders
be vigilante
do not answer the door
do not go outside
remember “Love is strength”
and until further notice
“Stay strong, Boston.”
pop-up-poetry 
whew…your closing line puts it in context…and if we do..if we stay in…do they win then? if we allow life to be dictated to us by fear…you lulled me in a bit…the coffee and donuts at special request got me smiling…really nice progression…and then…pow in the end…
I hear you… this is a ‘found’ poem… taken from the pages of a Canadian news magazine called ‘Macleans’ and the sign ‘stay strong Boston’ was posted in the Watertown neighbourhood.
Wow. You’ve really captured the trauma of having suffered through the Boston crisis.
It’s not possible to empathize with something that I did not experience personally… but I try. Thanks very much.
I meant to say “fully empathize”… sorry 🙂
Lesley-Anne, it’s so clear that the harm of terrorism extends far beyond the act itself.. The fear it generates is so crippling. This is a beautiful write about a tragic incident and its consequences.
Yes, it is very tragic and hard to understand in true detail. I’m honoured to have tried in a very small way to shine a light on things.
during the time when the people were asked to stay in their houses i sometimes thought how it must feel to be locked in and you know that there are terrorists in the neighborhood and you don’t know how things develop and what they’re doing next and also how long it will take…really well penned
Hi Claudia… it’s been along time since I last came by dVerse, but I remember you and your wonderful poetry. So, thank you for dropping by and I’m going to return the favour.
Must say that you managed the closing line masterfully when all the other lines fell into place.
Thank you Bjorn… it was oddly strange how this poem seemed to write itself.
YES, SOMETIMES WE NEED TO STOP, JUST TO MOVE AHEAD!!
I was smiling to myself this morning as I drove by a home with a ‘disaster’ restoration crew there… probably a flood or something like that…such a matter of perspective, what is a disaster to some, is not to others who have experienced a pain and suffering we cannot ever understand. We need to stop, reflect, learn, move on… yes. Thanks for taking time to comment, I appreciate it.
I find it hard to imagine how a lockdown would feel, and to know there are bombers out there is just chilling. A very effective poem.
I know… I have experienced an evacuation during a firestorm where water bombers flew overhead for days… it felt like war zone, but I have never experienced that either. Thanks for coming by.