Snakes at My Door

A preacher dominates
six o’clock news
megaphone voice
commanding protest
mask-less hordes roar

A young repairman
offs his mask with distaste
claims it’s all a hoax,
the cure is withheld
a ploy to control –
read it on the internet.

A friend whose wisdom
and words have inspired
confesses she’ll not accept
vaccination, as her life
is in God’s hands.

And from behind a curtain
of despair, I observe
as words, like snakes
gather on my front step
nest in a writhing menace

The virus’ venom
a poison I’m not sure
I can defeat

And what am I to do
when abstinence from public life
makes me conveniently invisible

and fear that if I speak up
will reveal a truth I cannot bear
that the devout, the young, the compassionate
care not a wink for the likes of me.

Published by

VJ

Permission to write, paint, and imagine are the gifts I gave myself when chronic illness hit - a fair exchange: being for doing. Relevance is an attitude. Humour essential.

33 thoughts on “Snakes at My Door”

  2. your country sounds truly troubled … how can they deny so many deaths! Is it fear or ignorance …

    stay well away from these toxic misinformed ones … be safe and stay well

    Liked by 2 people

  4. There is no cure , no vaccine for stupidity. It is so disheartening to hear people deny the reality of the virus or place it in the conspiracy pigeonhole. But you are not alone VJ. There are others of us out here who share your opinion and concerns.

    Liked by 3 people

  7. Oh VJ, this is something that has really caused me to question those people I thought I knew…. As a Christ-follower it has absolutely shattered my heart that the people who are so eager to tell you that God loves you show through their lack of consideration that they don’t… We are called to love one another, and part of that is to act with compassion and do whatever we can to keep everyone safe. You really touched my heart with this one my friend.

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  9. That fourth stanza conveys such feeling. I am gobsmacked by the people I thought I knew; Some I would not have expected to disbelieve the science and others their lack of compassion for those they refuse to protect by not wearing a mask.

    Liked by 2 people

  10. V.J. I can so relate to this poem. I, too, heard that preacher and he preaches very close to where I grew up in TN. I have a niece who gathers generations of her family inside in close quarters, no masks, even though her father died of COVID just before Thanksgiving. I am staying in as much as I can. It’s bad out there and I think you are right, many do not care for their fellow man. Sad.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. I just don’t understand it. The preacher in my poem leads a congregation in a small town nearby. They have rampant numbers of cases and so many losses and yet his flock continues to follow him. Officials are fining him especially now that he is leading protests in other areas.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. I wonder if these people watch the news. Every night, we are taken inside the hospitals in the hardest hit states. Some ICUs are full, with patients on gurneys in the halls and ambulances lined up outside waiting. Some hospitals are operating under combat condititions, with tents set up in the parking lot, and doctors forced to do triage because they can’t treat everyone. Public health doctors are breaking down in tears during news briefings because the only thing that will slow the tide of deaths is people wearing masks and staying at home–and they refuse to do it.

        Liked by 3 people

  11. I know what you’re going through because I cannot take the vaccine because of my autoimmune disease. You scribed my heart. What makes it harder is being so alone. You are blessed to have a husband and a family that loves you! Much Love, Deborah 🙂 ❤

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