March 15: Ellen Bryant Voigt, "Kyrie," Stay Loved

I will continue with offering up poems from Ellen Bryant Voigt's collection Kyrie, which is about the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918.  A little over 100 years ago this thing took hold of the planet.

We are now dealing with another thing, and, as always, when I am facing something big and scary, I turn to poetry.

Keep calm, my friends.  Wash your hands.  Stay distanced.  Stay safe.  Stay loved.

Saint Marty is praying for you all.

from Ellen Bryant Voigt's Kyrie

All ears, tongue and gut,

dogs know if something's wrong;

chickens don't know a thing, their brains

are little more than optic nerve--

they think it's been a very short day

and settle in the pines, good night,

head under wing, near their cousins

but welded to a lower branch.

Dogs, all kids of dogs--signals

are their job, they cock their heads,

their backs bristle, even house dogs

wake up and circle the wool rug.

Outside, the vacant yard:  then,

within minutes something eats the sun.