Pandemic Feelings | Samantha Terrell

Pandemics, and Bigger Problems

Nations—
United around toilet paper—
But divided by, “I can’t breathe,”
And necks pressed down by authoritarian knees— 
Are misplaced.

Politicians—
United by crooked systems—
Who built fortress walls around
The people’s house  
In order to shut citizens out,

Endanger them
More than
Bodies—united, risking
Social distancing,
To protest corruption.  

Minds united
By democracy and peace
And social justice remedies,
Will bring restoration
To a nation.

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Fictionalized Feelings

Complex
Puzzles
With scattered pieces

Try to put themselves together,
Positioning jagged parts that do not fit.
The other bits

Scramble to find their places.
The alignment isn’t right.
Some pieces are too tight,

While others simply sit
Cast aside,
Unused.

But a cult-like desire to
Be part of the whole, stay –  
However worthlessly – in place,

Keeps the stubborn ones
Jamming things up, as part of a collective
Belief system, prohibitive

To healing progress.

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Waterboarding (Will Never Work)

The ending
Of torture
Is not equivalent
To healing,
And

The absence
Of dread
Does not
Equate to hope –
But

It’s a start,
Nurtured by
Recognizing peace
Is not a science,
But an art.

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Poetry ©2021 Samantha Terrell
All rights reserved