I won first prize for the adult category in the West Roxbury Library poetry contest this year. The contest's theme was "space."
I'm generally a big believer in letting poems stand or fall on their own, but this one deserves an explanation: it was written at a very specific time at the beginning of the pandemic. I do not believe I would have written this poem even two weeks later. There have been too many losses, and I am not okay with that. (Also, some formatting was lost when I cut and pasted.)
Confessions
in the Time of Coronavirus
by
Nina
Kallen
Social distancing.
If it were not for the death, sickness, and despair,
And the economic collapse that may follow,
I would be okay with this.
Every cancelled networking event
Thrills me.
I dutifully buy gift certificates from restaurants
So that in the normal future
There will still be places where I can
Listen to mortgage salesmen discuss golf
And business brokers mourn closed strip clubs,
Intercepted by the occasional
“We need more diversity!”
No, I do not miss them.
I make ridiculous plans.
I will plant peas before St. Patrick’s Day.
(Oops, I did not.)
I will start a new sourdough starter.
(Unlikely.)
I will call my elderly neighbors.
(Eventually.)
I have always scoffed at homeschoolers,
And “unschoolers” are even worse.
Imagine letting our children learn what they want,
When they want.
And yet, now,
Stuck at home,
With each other,
And worse for them, with me,
Will my daughters write that musical,
Or make that poster
About the benefits of vegetarianism?
Maybe they will start the sourdough starter
(Still unlikely.)
Maybe my over homeworked, over girlscouted,
Over honor-societied, over leadership-trained,
Over everythinged
Wonderful kids
Will sleep
(Not metaphorically, just sleep).
I would be okay with that.
Maybe in a few tomorrows
After we mourn our losses
We will wake up refreshed
Ready to do battle with the world again
To demand diversity
To have our soul projects
To make time to sleep.
I would be okay with that.
