Thanks so much to all of you that have joined in the #viralpoetry challenge. I loved all of your poems - they recorded a momentous time in human history for all of us, a collective trauma for many. The overwhelming message was one of hope - that this too shall pass, and we shall be stronger for it.
To me, it didn't matter what your opinion was of the virus, politics, or anything that went along with it. What mattered was how it affected us, and is still affecting us. I recognise the alternative views of the pandemic, but believe we must understand how others have lived this past year.
I believe these poems form an important record of these times, and I wanted to list them all here for posterity - perhaps it's worth bookmarking, to come back to in a few years time. A poetic record, if you will, of these times.
A Mother's Prayer by @aramza
The Riding of an Enigma by @aramza
Where Is the Empathy for Others? by @tejimundo
The Importance of Dreaming by @owasco
Confined in Me by @jemima1996
My Journey Through the Plandemic by @trucklife-family
The Mask by @justclickindiva
A despicable sight by @evev
Trembling hands
touch the walls
percussing diverse sounds...
rhythms of ancestors
that reveal company,
offer comfort to the neighbor
with the sound of what they express.
Orwell's Lost Volumes by @cryptodave
A Year, and Beyond by @melbourneswest
Social Distancing by @carmenm20
Opening the Inner Eye by @paolazun
A Year Later, What Next by @chinyerevivian
Poetry in Lockdown by @franchalad
Memories that still breathe by @warpedpoetic
Desolate Bodies by @universoperdido
Pandemonium by @jakim7
Behind My Mask by @nahupuku
All Alone by @bruno-kema
I'm all alone in my big empty house,
with the drone of the air conditioner;
and the scampering feet if the mouse.
Unable to be mobile;
unable to get out into the sun
@bruno-kema
Vulnernability by @stairway2heaven
From Quarantine by @silher
The night is a pause,
a parenthesis to be filled,
a clock that stops,
a prayer,
a song,
a desire that throbs in insomnia.
@silher
Alone by @jesuspsoto
Life Changes by @ubani1
The Winners
Okay, I confess how much I hate winners, when I think everyone's poem packed a powerful punch! I've already awarded @warpedpoetic, @chinyerevivian and @universoperdido 5 HIVE each for there fantastic poems. With 35 HIVE remaining today, the final winners are:
There were two poems I loved for their succinct and powerful approach to the challenge - @thatcryptodave and @owasco's. Both win 10 HIVE each. Poetry often demands to be read a number of times, sucking you into a vortex of meaning. Your approach was novel, and stepped outside the very emotional chaos that was - and is - whorling around you to offer something quite different, and left me thinking long after the final reading. That's the power of poetry, no? And me being a lover of how words resonate, well, these words resonated with me. Thankyou. Another 5 HIVE goes to @warpedpoetic as I simply can't get out of my head the image of the raven as substitue for the dove, signifying the flood is over - and barrelling out into the moonlight to wonder where everyone is, and whether you've got the strength for this trauma, and then practicality and pragmatism prevailing.
@franchalad's poem wins 5 HIVE, reminding us that COVID is just another layer on top of a devastating crisis in Venuzuela. I loved the percussive drumming and human connection in @evev's post so she also wins 5 HIVE, as does @bruno-kema, as his repetition really emphasised the loneliness and isolation of home quarantine.
If you entered this challenge, please find the time to go and comment on at least three of the poems you've missed. I know your time is precious, but so is the vulnerability, love, courage and beauty expressed in all of these poems, which deserve recognition in the form of your attention.
I can't express how wonderful you all are, and how these poems give me faith in humanity. From the bottom of my poetry loving heart, I thank you!