Least Read Poems About a Pandemic

The body lay ever silent
dressed in his best
draped in flowers
raped by death
his skin was olive
but not in a beautiful way
making him look plasticine
like he belonged in Men's Clothing
sporting the latest senior golf wear
except for his dappled grey hair
his caterpillar moustache
even Psalm 23
could not save me
from staring at the corpse
wondering how COVID literally
wrung the life out him
leaving this desiccated husk
behind
looking like some archeological dig
as fragile as a...

Masks

They hide the smiles
conceal the miles
traveled…
all the roads graveled
 
Despite their multicolors
their attempt to reassert  
some identity
in front of me
 
But
 
to my surprise  
they highlight the eyes
 
those ever clear windows

The bright colors distract
pretending to detract
from the true peril
this true menace

Hiding in plain sight
avoiding the good fight
by using more subtle
means

All that it gleans
from our clear lack
of understanding
all of our grandstanding

Leaving us here again
both enemy and friend
left shaken
left off balance

Draped in nonchalance
as if we believe it
we could ever conceive it

in light of all this darkness

Punitive
corona virus--
lépreuse
some say it's invasion
the barbarian without

quarantined
I clear my throat
behind the face mask
breathe in unknown viruses
suffer new repressions

now lockdown
cut off life:
castration
Hugo said monasticism
resisting death

--R K Singh