Fake Charity Nerd Girl

No matter what changes the coming years bring,
As the leaves of our youth fade from green,
I am sure we will always remember the spring
When we fought about COVID-19.

We all became experts on MERS and on SARS,
Debated the hammer and dance.
Quoted from studies that found CFRs,
Weighing sample size, bias, and chance.

For others the year has brought lockdowns in vain,
Or loved ones in hospital beds.
We happened to live somewhere it was contained
So we argued on Twitter instead.

And they’ll bury the dead when it’s over at last,
As the streets fill with laughter and song.
Over time our disputes will fade into the past,
But we’ll never admit we were wrong.

(written by me in May 2010)

They say our lives are dreary and routine,
When suddenly, along comes a disaster
To break the peaceful, shatter the serene.

Perhaps that’s why life’s seemed a little faster,
A bit more thrilling, maybe, recently—
I’ve just now learned that man is not Earth’s master.

From Iceland came a cloud across the sea.
We had to close our airports, cancel flights.
We fell apart—that’s how it seemed to me.

In airports, weary travelers spent long nights.
We wondered if Earth had turned on her daughters
And sons, and humankind had seen its height.

It was like that when we couldn’t drink the water.
Was Earth a vengeful mother? Did she grow
Increasingly irate that we forgot her?

Whether she did or not, I was aglow
With ardor, and I begged to brush my teeth
With our San Pellegrino. Mom said no.