Sarah P Ross

Viral Spiral Sarah P Ross

The pandemic of our lifetime, the era of Covid-19, was a time of mystery, death, and fear as never before seen. It revealed the nurse's face imprinted red as she cried behind her mask and the EMT loading soon-to-be-dead onto the ambulance. Amidst the Food Bank's love and sustenance was news of Captain Crozier's termination, fired for trying to save his men from Covid's annihilation. Even Governor Cuomo acted as the surrogate president as New Yorkers clapped from their windows to thank first responders for their magic, and people stayed home, always to celebrate alone. It was just the time when nothing made sense and everything reeked of false pretense. It was a time when working for gratuity changed to delivery, when jobs were all gone and bills pilled overwhelmingly high! Stocks plummeted radically. Another Depression was nigh. Drugs became the crutch for each hour, and abuse of all sorts ruled rampid with power. There is no escape when one's quarantined; children learned a way of life not meant to be. Nursing homes hid the dead bodies of their residents, while all people of color died disproportionately. The meat-packers were forced to work against their own will; Native Americans once again, by a virus, were killed. The homeless had to endure even more suffering, but for the first time, from Coronavirus, our air became clean. George Floyd started his own pandemic for the BLACK LIVES MATTER task as the president gassed peaceful protestors to clear a path, never wearing a mask, his followers to never dare ask. The virus continued to baffle and control as Americans writhed from its pain. The world had changed. All had changed. Yet graduates, though masked, pretended all was the same. Wearing masks, they flung hats up with glee, while uncaring asymptomatics spread the virus epidemically. Monuments of hate and slavery came toppling down, and the sound of protest continued to erupt. A child's birthday was celebrated by her black daddy being gunned down, where he only awkwardly slept. The bounty of our soldiers rages with this virus today. It is no surprise that innocent children are being caged. "Live and let die" dictated the day that we all blindly march in Corona's parade. Viral Spiral is a book that details the various dramatic aspects of the coronavirus pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. Each poem is accompanied by real-life photos of Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter content. The marriage of these photos with each jaw-dropping poem will overwhelm the reader.