Poetry: Pandemic Poetry by Richard LeDue
Restless
Don’t know the point of 1 AM anymore,
the dead are still silent,
while I’m more frightened by whispers in the dark.
The next day, too tired to discuss housing markets,
interest rates, mind feels like molasses
sitting in a bowel with nowhere to go,
my grandmother’s cookie recipe written down,
but the paper lost
as I check my phone again,
pay the cable bill online,
try to be in bed at a healthy hour,
only to lie awake, afraid
of waking anyone.
Two Extra Bottles of Dish Soap Under the Sink
The only solution is to care
about other worries
more important than dirty dishes:
ketchup hardened so a sponge is needed,
old macaroni stiff at the bottom of the sink,
silverware packed in glasses,
until they fall over, coffee mugs
stained long ago-
the silence part of the argument,
tongues resting in mouths
like someone in a hospital bed,
who never thought they would die
that way.
The inspiration for these two poems falls into the category that I’ve started to notice in my own writing that I refer to as being subconsciously about the pandemic. I never intended the poems to be about the virus when I wrote them, yet they deal with life in the “new normal.” The ending of “Two Extra Bottles of Dish Soap Under the Sink” is intentionally left open to interpretation because it could be relating to anxieties from the pandemic, or the metaphorical death one may experience by becoming over-concerned with everyday matters like cleaning dishes.”
About the author
Richard LeDue was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, but currently lives in Norway House, Manitoba with his wife and son. His poems have appeared in various publications throughout 2019, and more work is forthcoming throughout 2020, including a chapbook from Kelsey Books.
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