Brave New World
Every time I see
The pixel-signs
Alongside the parkway
BE SAFE
STAY HOME
WASH YOUR
HANDS OFTEN
WEAR A MASK
IN PUBLIC
I feel like I am
Watching a futuristic
Film in which the
World is forever changed,
(Blade Runner or Mad Max)
In which
LifeAsWeKnowIt,
Is unrecognizable.
But,
Unlike the movie
Scenario,
I cannot turn to
My companion,
Popcorn wedged between
My teeth, and say:
“Can you imagine?…”
Corona I
We spent the days
Sleeping,
Like spent lovers,
In each others’ arms,
Breathing slowly,
Our bodies blazing
With the virus,
Come to re
Member us to
The Magnificent,
To the delicate
Flower
Corona II
The great equalizer
The stealthy
The quick and merciless
The door closer
The heart opener
The grocery shelf vaporizer
The mask wearer
The measuring stick
The zoom meeting maker
The dog walker
The game player
The invisible
The vanquisher
The loss-maker,
Grief wailer
The store closer
The job annihilator
The lonely days
The ‘are you my neighbor?’
The pace-setter
The confiner
The fear-generator
The faith-maker
Mother Nature’s fury
See what it feels like,
Now:
“I can’t breathe”
Planet choking, along with
Eric Garner,
Countless others, named and
Forgotten,
Violence upon violence,
Greed and neglect.
This is what it feels like.
Surprise.
Corona III
Watch the Visible Ink performance here.
Artists
Composer: Andrew Sotomayor Director/Choreographer/Dancer: Matthew Steffens Voiceover Artist: Karen Wexler
Superman
Is sleeping in his
Bed again;
Lung capacity
Greatly diminished
But breathing, still
Still, breathing
He opens his eyes
And beneath
The hollow
Of the ordeal
Behind him
A drinking in,
A recognition
Of all that
Was familiar
And now is new
Again
Aladdin’s treasure,
Nearly lost,
To the kryptonite
Of the invisible organism
Video Credits:
Galas Have Been Cancelled
Galas have been cancelled
and the banquet halls are empty
The morning commute
is a breeze
And the subway shuts down
at night
for cleaning
Restaurants and cafés,
struggling yet with
take out and delivery,
have stacked their
tables and chairs
Hair salons, bars, museums, schools:
All shuttered
Only grocery stores are busy,
lines of masked customers,
respecting 6 feet distance
Zoom has replaced
the board room,
the meeting hall,
the classroom,
the newsroom and
late night talk shows
Telehealth is the new norm
Even chamber music
and a capella concerts,
tune up virtually,
the individual parts
performed in living rooms
across the world and
expertly edited together
Family dinners and game night,
Tiny faces in tiny boxes,
Screens within screens
Weddings, funerals, graduations
All online.
And still, the birds
begin to sing
(of open sky?)
in the green, green world
outside my lightening
bedroom
The one with whom
I share my life
sleeps soundly beside me;
Deep breath in
Deep breath out
Author Bio
Dorothea Biba Naouai is an RN working in hospice and a student in the Narrative Medicine masters program at Columbia University. She and her husband of 30 years both fell ill with COVID 19 and recovered. Her husband is a chef and collects Superman memorabilia.
Instagram: @dorotheanaouai
Photo credits
Dorothea Biba Naouai