Anticipated Response to Unknown

Biloxi, MS - April 2020

There’s a danger out there that we got a name for

out there slippin

through the air out there driftin in flingin out

of folks in here

and the heat ain’t gonna kill it like

he said it but he’s doin his damndest

out there not like the

Chinese it’s colorless

but you maybe saw it floatin

in the guarded white of that fella’s

eyes you know He has a plan for us tasteless

but the slickest spots

under your tongue surge

with every sani squirt soundless

but every knuckle crack foot

fall’s louder and the wind chime you barely

heard before now a menace

every breath around mean with a maybe

weapon they can’t be trusted the governor

saying stay home and who are you to tell me to

wait pacified with money wait

we’re not babies tell me a free citizen what

to do want to go back to knowing what

to do out there for the danger! the danger

in here.

This poem was inspired by recent conversations I've had with family members, as well as a regional response to the Covid 19 Virus. The fear and frustration of those closest to me resonates deeply because their comfort level influences mine. However, as with many topics controversial in nature, I find myself positioned outside of their predictable ideology. This poem is an attempt at achieving a greater understanding by way of imitation.