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concrete poetry

Covid-19, a poem of hope by Audrey Chuang, 11

Covid-19 by Audrey Chuang, 11 The news rings in my head The anger and negativity swirling around me I can’t settle My heart won’t settle Everyone’s hearts won’t settle Every pair of anxious eyes Waiting for the image For the image Of crime Death The old book that I have read millions of times by now Is wrinkled And words are faded I can’t go outside to play I can’t imagine without going to the library I can’t imagine without reading a new book I can feel my heart beating every time Something bad happens like the stock Rising up and down Like the heartbeat of a patient Waiting for the doctor I can feel the pain that the world is facing It feels like its pulse is in my hands Ready like a flying fish Out in the sky Open to the new Open wide world That used to be Full of people Now nothing But a mere ghost town Waiting to swallow you up And make you face the crime And the pain people are talking about in the news You know it You have it You feel the pain of who you are Until you fall into the jaws Of the people Who recovered And died You don’t know who is next But it may be you Watch out for the coronavirus Doctors and nurses Are waiting to See how to stop the jaws Of the Covid-19.   Every time I turn on the TV, I see the Covid-19 update, just like when my mom turns on her phone, all she sees is the updates of more face masks, homemade food or some sort of thing that relates to Covid-19. I wrote the poem ‘Covid-19’ because it mattered to me and the rest of the world. When I started to write this poem, I felt this was very important to me as there was something behind it and I wouldn’t know until I finished it. I knew that on the day I started writing this poem it gave me inspiration to rethink the people and the world around me. What I want to express in this poem is that the Covid-19 is very dangerous and still, some people are not taking it seriously and this is risking doctors, nurses, and others’ lives. Just like a flying fish wanting to fly and see the world and see what it feels to be out of the water, and to watch out for the sky and waters above and beneath, people need to be careful of Covid-19 and keep social distance before we defeat this virus. Always, there is a lantern of hope in my heart, and for that, my poem has the shape of a lantern to let people see it as a kindle of hope.     Audrey Chuang, 11 Portland, OR