(c) 2021 by Michael L. Utley
(#22)
Propaganda, lies
And conspiracy theories
Are killing people
Your rights end where mine begin
Wear a mask and vaccinate
…..
(#23)
Lone bristlecone pine
Bears the scars of lightning strikes
But has not succumbed
Wise old man on mountainside
Wizened by millennia
…..
(#24)
Will the earth miss us
After we have killed ourselves
Earth will carry on
Healing slowly over time
Once human virus is purged
Silent Pariah 
It’s easy to see where your thoughts are today. It’s hard to even remember what normal life used to be like. Or was it ever really normal? At least it was familiar back before things suddenly changed.
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Yep, it’s been weighing heavily on my mind for quite awhile and it’s been so difficult to be “cheery” and “upbeat” amid all this chaos of lies and denial and propaganda. This virus is real and it’s killing us and so many people are delusional and thereby contributing to the body count. I’ve lost three people I knew already. My aunt was in ICU on a ventilator recently. Other members of my family have contracted the virus yet still believe crazy conspiracy theories and lies about it. My friend is an RN with the PHS in AZ and he’s seen so much death already and he’s so burned-out now and he’s in danger every day at work. It’s just soul-crushing. My poetry is depressing enough as it is; I don’t want to make it even more so, but sometimes I feel like I have to say something, you know? As always, thanks, Michelle, for reading and replying. I appreciate it more than you know. 🙂
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The thing I get most annoyed with, is when people say they must’ve had preexisting health issues to be vulnerable enough to get covid or die from it. I think everyone is at risk, healthy or not. I’ve had some side effects from the vaccine, but nothing compared to what I know it would be like to get really sick with covid. I lost a friend early on. We weren’t close friends, but still, it was a blogger who I corresponded with from time to time and when I learned of their death and their parents deaths too, it made me wish I’d kept in touch more. It also showed me how dangerous covid really is. Since then, quite a few people I know have been sick with it, or even hospitalized. It’s just a sad state we’re all in right now and this will be something none of us will ever forget. I think you should always write what’s in your heart. Sad or happy, we gotta write what we’re feeling. If nothing else, it’s good for the soul. 😌
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