Life in the Time of Corona
COVID-19 from the Beginning
Christina Larson
Christina Larson taught psychology for UWF, was a first female paramedic, FPA president, peace summit delegate in Vienna, Censored Stories award recipient, speaker for APA 1997, keynote in Nürnberg 2000, and Chautauqua 2006. Writings include Sculpting A Vision in Metal, Stone, and Words and Marty is Dead.
If Big Bang was the start,
with no one yet to hear,
what noise could it impart?
A more descriptive name,
“Commotion Set in Motion.”
‘Tho’ punch it lacks,
reflects the knacks of
land, fire, air and ocean.
And as the human race
stays its relentless pace,
wars, plagues, and aches
are what it takes
to make us slam the brakes.
Germ-scare! We dare not wander.
Subdued, we don’t go out.
A virus loose,
we’re all recluse, thus granted
time to pout and ponder.
No flesh-on-flesh. Don’t touch.
Six feet apart we keep.
It isn’t asking much.
Cough into sleeves,
curtail each sneeze,
lest we go six feet deep.
We tithe with sorrow staid
as tolls in lives are paid.
No planes or cars.
Kiss from afar.
Repent polluters’ ways.
Yet hope begins to rise
from mankind’s piteous phase.
As Earth revives,
rebalance thrives:
clean air, fresh waterways.
If we survive this doom
to leave our household womb,
as germs abate
at any rate
will harsh lifestyles resume?
Do inspired laws await?
Pandemic lessons learned.
Our species, wisdom earned?
Those who weather this storm
must create a new norm,
lest survivors repeat this dread fate.
May cleared vision remain 20-20,
worth way more than stuff, fame, or money.
The industrial age
has outlived its rampage.
Folks resolve not to stray
from the balance in play
then the outlook for humans seems sunny.
Happy 50th birthday,
Earth Day.