Official DUP NaPo/GloPoWrimo 2020 Competition

28/30

[ NapoWriMo 2020 Collection ] Survival

Part X: Pandemic

ii
Jin Yin-tan Hospital
Dongxihu District of Wuhan
Hubei, China, December, 2019

[ . . . ]I had to always wear a mask.  
I worked in Wuhan for about a month  
alongside many colleagues  
whose faces I never saw.

~ Dr. Dongchen Zhou, Cardiologist  
Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China

Nurse Xie Jingjing hasn't see her son
for more than ten days—
she is on the front lines of covid-19
with her husband  

The female nurses cut their hair  
to reduce the risk of infection—
just like concentration camps;  
first colleagues, then her own

The mood in the ward is tense
but orderly; in some patient's eyes
young nurses are still children—
but, they battle to save lives
just as an adult
who will only be remembered  
by their eyes and voice  

Saying goodnight  
to a covid-19 patient
translates a chance of goodbye;
of never seeing them again—
because corona turns on a dime  

leaving perhaps an empty bed
or a replacement instead—  
It truly is a bellicose battle  
those at home cannot understand:

a rancid death wresting a host's  
final breath unwittingly kills itself—
and that is the irony of this virus  
~

28/30

Law of Averages

Law of averages / Collapsed and evolved / Mauled by jaws of savages / Mapped the raw / Tap and invest in flow / Laugh at what’s left and the unknown / Breath control / Depths swole inside / Been awhile since I could rest beside / A mistress who slept with a sigh / But that’s how the Whole survives / When the Death Toll rises / That’s not how a fire sale or false flag is advertised / Antagonize fear and wonder / Mirrored in resistance / Conspiracies and belligerence / Indigence from ignorance / Suspicion and conviction / From knee jerk contradiction / Fucking ideological whispering / Sociological flame licking / Pause and gain during distancing / Retrain sight and speech / Writing for weeks / But all anyone talks about is / The deceased and diseased / Beast in my steeze / Revealing guile and sense / Feels so wild west tense just shopping in this ghost town / Dropping my crown / Clue me more / ‘Bout New Normal / From the top down / Monopolize punchlines / From humanity’s jumbled mind / Like mangrove jungle vines / Stumble on a hunch / Upfront, open and blunt / With closed door rapport / Chorus from jump / Covid or Culture War / Which is the bigger punk?

28/30

Manor On A Hill (V)

As you sit in the fog, fading it seems
yet never so clearly did your embers glow
your smoke rise, your trees rattle.
Your dim presence exudes time itself
and I was there, so am I here
we always were; of you
I lived inside.

I stoked the fire, set the table
fitted the linens on the cots,
swept the floorboards,
lit candles in your windows
and it was me they saw in your windows;
the shore front passers-by,
the children at play,
the birds in the heavens --          

Stay shut in your frozen locks,
your jammed doorways,
stay cloaked in dust for I am trapped inside
and seek not exit. Not now, not ever
eternally speaking.      

               79 uw

28/30

Broken Bridge

*Sigh*....
Why do you feel you're so high?
Why do you always have to be early everywhere you go?
Why do you subtly brag about everything you do
As if they are such problems and burdens
Like you are still in your teens?
I've tried to like you,
Tried to be "family" with you,
But I could clearly see,
That you did not like what I thought, did, was, and wanted to be,
And you thought way too different from me,
Way too negatively.
You slowly broke the bridge, cobble, by cobble,
Across, I tried to hobble,
But you didn't want to connect,
And so I broke what was left of that bridge, but then after a while of neglect,
Vines started to grow across from your side,
I burnt the leaves, kept my back turned, and stayed on my side.
We each built seperate kingdoms that flourished,
With our personalities...our lives, they've been furnished.
Now on the rough, broken ends of the stone bridge,
You've taken each and every ridge
And carved them into spikes that painfully seep into my brain with each knowing, undermining, action,
Every time you are here, I try not to take action.
But also now, the vines crawl down, across the river bottom, and up the supports of my side of the bridge,
Like a blemish,
It's poison ivy, and devil's snare,
Hidden beneath a blanket of moss, you don't even know they're there,
It's a cry for help, you want to connect,
But when you try to connect,
You don't realize, that what you say, comes off
As more of a show off.
I don't want to repair this bridge, but I would just like to sand smooth the ends,
Cauterize the nerve ends,
It won't ever not be awkward for us, or sad on your part,
But at least I would like it to not be as painful on my part.
Stop trying to hurt me,
By bringing up everything you do that you think I can't do or be.

xxviii of xxx

MATING SEASON

These past few days
I’ve seen different groups of birds
Fight for each other.

It must be mating season.
It’s fascinating,
The way they act mean
Then victorious
Then humbled, then
Nothing ever happened.

I’m not sure I’ve seen any success stories.
Well, there were the mosquito eaters
Who looked conjoined at the butt.
No drama there.

   +    +    +

50 unique words exactly
out of who cares total
NaPoWriMo 2020

(29/30)

Products

We're all products of our environments
More than the sense where we pay rent
Dollars & cents make major differences
Minimizing decisions causing prison sentences

Imagine not having pots to piss in or windows for throwing it out
Would you refuse doing what some do by perusing illegal routes
Those with money clouds will never comprehend
Avenues chosen when hope has reached its end

28 / 30

tailchase

I have been chasing my own tail
since this morning
completely lost
in distractions.

I know the scent, and the trail,
and the way,
but I've been finding every reason
to poke at bushes
pick up rocks,
and waste the day.

I noticed this time, though,
that the distractions
weren't working.
they didn't get me to turn back.
or even stop.

I have no clue where this ends,
but for my feet, bless them,
nothing but onward will do.

Here is thanking
the nighttime walk
that cooled my face
and calmed me,

and for the shooting star that scratched the sky
to tell me
some tails are beyond chasing.

#29 Of 30


Induced Coma


This rising
Medical emergency
Whole wild world
In an induced coma
Recovery slow
No life guaranteed
Walls of society
Torn down
Hidden disease
Spreading like a bush fire

Horizons changed forever
Mask or not to
That’s the question
Will create shortages
For those heroes
On bloody frontlines
Clapping sound
Revealing heartfelt gratitude
Could be humanity’s
Beyond that moon landing


Total Words: 59
Unique Words; 59

28/30


a new day will come

It’s so close that I can taste it
The sweet nectar that becomes
From starting a new adventure a new journey
The true solution for all of its sums

I’m so excited I’m about to burst
Though I know I should just keep my cool
The day is here it’s finally almost here
Relax, before you look like the fool

Come on over and join me here
I’ve got plenty of excitement for two
It’s just so close I can feel it now
This is a great moment for me and you


Unique words:  64

28/30

Late Night Inks, Under the Sky

Tonight was one for the books, I’d say

I never thought we’d connect in such a unique way
I have a knack for finding lost and broken souls
Perhaps a gift, for us both

Late night drives brought us here
Into a random parking lot
Darkness and some beer
A slice of moon to shine on us
And listen to our voice

I watched your lips as you talked
And realized I never heard your voice more than mine
I had to stop and think
Have I not been listening this entire time?

It’s late, I should go to sleep
But my friend, thank you
For late nights, and stories
For letting me into your imaginative world
And giving me confidence in opening mine
So they may meet

#29 of 30

So Everybody Suffers

I am a classic mistake maker
Thinking myself unique  
fearless overcomer
 
I face demons  
and treat them  
like kittens  
 
while watching  
in shock  
as they scratch
 
Arrogantly thinking somehow  
I could be the exception  
my self-deception  
 
The verdict is in
right mid-quarantine  
Can I face what I mean?
 
You might wonder  
at what holds back
my tongue

I fear to blunder
afraid of displeasing  
war drums of thunder
 
or misleading  
Many feel stuck
with resentment  
 
oppression  
is seeding
 
But the oppressed  
may become  
the oppressor  
 
so that everyone  
will eventually suffer

29/30

Born with a pen between her teeth

They found you outside the convent
on Easter Sunday, left inside a bonnet
lined with newspaper and blankets,
no note, just the misgivings of shame.
They nick-named you Cindy Elle
and took you inside Our Lady of Mercy,
gave you a cot in their old cellar.

Of course over the years you grew.
No book could tame your wild horse
you where taught to abstain but fought
with the elements of nature, always dreamed
to be more than you seemed, to write
your name on a fading sky, they all knew
how hard you would try. No room
for a Princes stare or to let one climb your hair.

But tonight on this cold stone floor
you sweep for the sisters once more
as poetry and prose, blows in from outside.
As Bluebirds fold their bed linen, you decide
to find yourself a Mother or a long lost brother.
You'll write them in to being, give them space
to shatter glass ask of them a jaded past
where evil always tries to prevail, and
even the mice have furry tails.

29/30

Just Give Me Some Sanity

and I drove today with your voice
purring in my ear
It’s been aeons since I felt
words slice through the dense
layers of reality
hundreds of miles
dissipate and you’re there whispering

inside my brain crawling around
flipping switches
playing up there as if it’s
a carnival ride
a mirrored fun house
a gallery of goodies on display
and I bid you stay away from the
red door
because that one
that one there
Is too hot for you to handle