image from saatchiart.com
Without Closure
We had no ending;
none said good-bye.
For all my life,
I’ll wonder why.--Lang Leav
There are
those introverts
who are not
uncomfortable
being shut in.
But the rest
of us want
closure
from this
planet’s pandemic.
Just follow
the science,
don’t close
your mind.
For me,
it feels like
an epidemic
of invisible vampires
lurking outside
closed doors.
Glenn Buttkus
Quadrille
Posted over at d'Verse Poets Pub
23 comments:
This is a powerful, haunting visual, Glenn.
For the record (as a fairly hardcore introvert), while the part about staying home doesn't bring me much angst or life-change, the rest of this thing certainly does. Praying with you for the closure we all need.
After the first three weeks of being shut in, I feel so much safer. It’s the other people who worry me, the ones who just won’t follow the advice and put everyone else at risk. The final stanza says it all, Glenn.
Yes, I'm an introvert, but I cannot wait to see my friends, or even the Starbucks baristas, again!
For me life is about 80% the same as usual. I walk several times per day, but then sit down by my desk having video meetings over and over... as busy as ever. I think this disease will have its course, I just wonder how it will go, and for how long. In the meantime we can all just do our best and stay as safe as possible.
Watch out for those vampires!
Introverts and extroverts are feeling this. No one likes being forced to stay put. Your poem perfect describes that.
Life for me hasn't changed that much--I already worked from home, and my husband only teaches part-time, which he's now doing online. It's more the anxiety--being worried when my husband went to the store today, and do I have to be concerned about everything he touched.
Those last lines did make me laugh though. Horror stories are a bit of an antidote for me. 😀
Glenn, you and I had similar poems this week. I'm an introvert but even introverts like to get out once in awhile. Even the sound of the postal carrier's vehicle stopping at my mailbox is down to 2-3 times a week. I stand out in the middle of the road without another person in sight in any direction.
“For me,
it feels like
an epidemic
of invisible vampires
lurking outside
closed doors.”
Ooh, very Anne Rice. Love.
“... [writer] of gothic fiction, Christian literature, and erotic literature.” Ha. I didn’t realize she covered all that.
never saw myself as an introvert but I'm ok with closure ... this too will pass!
As an introvert, I like to get out too. Just as long as there aren't too many people around :-). This shut-in stuff is getting old. Evocative writing, by the way. Good stuff!
This is our life now, with no ending in sight. I laugh at your description of the virus as:
an epidemic
of invisible vampires
lurking outside
closed doors.
I spend a lot of time alone, but I'm sick of myself. Phone calls and emails just don't stand in for the real world. You're right the lack of any sense of an ending is very hard to live with.
I have been telecommuting for 3 weeks. I still have to go out occasionally for the needed items that can't be delivered. It's scary...
Stay safe...
It's not so much the invisible vampires (virus?) that I fear but the very visible PEOPLE who refuse to stay home and be cautious and think of the health of others. I too am an introvert (seems we might be in the majority) but this is getting old for me too. I miss being with my family and sweet granddaughters.
A quarantined quadrille...we're all going to get restless, yes.
You said it so well...that Spector of madness lurking outside our door!
It does seem like there are vampires out there that I cannot see.
I don't mind being sheltered in place - I walk around the neighborhood. it's going to be a long and bumpy ride so you better get used to it.
A good take on the quarantine, Glenn. As an introvert...I haven't noticed a difference (except losing my job!)
Sure does! Have a safe week Glen.
Much💝love
This is an apt description of what we are going through. Well done Glenn.
Well said, Glenn! In our 17 floor high-rise which is across the street from Mass. General Hospital....thus many health care workers live here.....I am thankful our building management has taken a strong hand in this. Everyone is required to wear a mask if they step outside their door. No lingering in the lobby or even the laundry room. I do laundry once a week at 5:30 AM so I won't run in to anyone else. Our daily walks are along a path that has multiple options for distancing if someone is coming toward you or up to you from behind. My husband only goes to the grocery once per week. You're right....it is the fear of what is outside our door.
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