3 Lockdown Poems to Lure Your Literary Love

From three magical Medium mavens.

Now that many of us are sheltering in place and some of us are lamenting the fate of ones who are not, lots of writing is happening.

Practical how-to articles, gloom and doom fear-mongering, rants and rages against the incompetencies of the system, and all kinds of inspirational inklings spew from pens of prolific prosers and posers alike.

And then there’s poetry. An extremely flexible form to fill with all of the above and then some. Either in free-flowing verse or strict formal formats. Writer’s choice.

Here on Medium, Corona and all things pandemic inspire poets to capture in verse, all things viral. And some have probably gone viral — in a good way. So here are three samples from the source that float my poet’s boat.

Marla Bishop:

I have been scanning the screens for some favorites to share with you. Let me start with my writing bud and soul sister, Marla Bishop, who lives in London. I was blessed to see her in person last November on a visit there and take in the sights through her eyes. And enjoy some Caribbean curried shrimp, OMG!

Marla is a true Renaissance woman, who has her hands in many pies and pots. She cares for her own kids and grands and yet finds time to help foster joy in the lives of foster children leaving that system.

She is a relationship coach, change agent, prolific blogger, and is also writing a novel. And somewhere in there spends quality time with her dear husband. I’m guessing she doesn’t sleep.

She’s written quite a few flourishes about COVID-19, so it was hard to choose just one. But The Indefensible Spokestards very clearly and cleverly depicts the sinister side of how #45 is taking matters into his own hands and to what purpose. Enjoy — if that’s the right word!

Jenny Justice:

While I have not yet met Jenny Justice, I sure hope I get a chance to. She’s also prolific on all things viral, including a poem for every day of the week. This one is pinned to the top of her profile, making it easy to find again, thank you, Jenny!

It’s called, I don’t know if I’m a Person Anymore or I’m Just a Thing that Fights. I can imagine her in the bed she mentions at the end of the poem, checking the pulse of the world to see if it’s safe to get up. The world is a dangerous place to be out in right now. And the news is grim.

So I imagine Jenny taking that all in and rather than digesting the unpalatable, spewing it back out verbally into her cell phone, in the form of this rhythmic rant, to be transcribed later once she starts her day.

Or, she may have sat in her garden over a nice glass of wine, tweaking and re-tweaking each word till it all sparkles the way the final piece does. Or both.

If my mind goes there, it’s because I am in awe of the finished result and curious about the incubation of her poetic babies. Maybe we can coax her into writing about her writing process. Eh, Jenny? Whadyasay?

In the meantime, here’s the culprit:

And finally, my contribution:

I have been writing poetry daily, mostly about the virus. I debated between a heavy poem about how the sunny spring days clash with the pain of this situation. Shouldn’t it more rightly be winter?

But then, I remembered writing a poem as part of a daisy chain of poems that landed on the theme of dancing in the face of what we’re facing.

Dancing away the blues, dancing to celebrate our lives, no matter how confined and for how long, moving to music to lift ourselves up, re-grounding our bodies. From ancient rituals to modern raves, sometimes ya just gotta dance!

So put on your favorite groove and let your body start to move! Enjoy!

So there you have it. Three of the many, many voices viral and poetic from the Medium milieu. I’m sure you know of others. If so, feel free to post three of them, including one of your own, if you like, here on Swing Wide the Gate. Till then, stay safe and partake plentifully of poetry’s pleasures — your literary PPE.

Marilyn Flower writes political humor and satire to delight socially and spiritually conscious folks. She’s a regular columnist for the prison newsletter, Freedom Anywhere, where she writes about faith and prayer. Five of her short plays have been produced in San Francisco. Clowning and improvisation strengthen her resolve during these crazy times.