Seeing Clearly Now

I can see clearly now the mask has gone away 

And stopped fogging up my glasses.

I can walk down the boardwalk

While breathing in the fresh air.

I can sit down with family and friends

Close enough to clearly hear what they say.

No, the coronavirus pandemic isn’t quite over

But I can sense the end is near.

People are having fun together again

I know because I can see the smile on their faces.

We’re resuming business as usual

As more of us return to our workplaces.

The concerts have returned to the park

And the shows are coming back to Broadway.

They’re playing baseball for fans in stadiums 

And new movies in the cinema theaters.

We’re even able to see old cars along the beach

And read new poems in person for others to hear.

I can also see more clearly than ever the power of science

Applied by smart, hardworking and dedicated people.

I can also see more clearly now the value of healthcare professionals,

And the importance of those we refer to as essential workers,

Whether they have Ph.Ds or high school degrees,

Regardless of whether they are paid thousands or hundreds each week.

I can see more clearly now why we need to hug,

And why we need to be in the presence of others.

I can see more clearly the present and the now

And the gift of life we should cherish every day,

The love we should not hold back from those dear to us,

Or the care for one another we should willingly provide.

I can see clearly now the mask has gone away,

The trees seem greener, the flowers prettier,

Birds are more noticeable, the sound of the ocean louder.

People look more beautiful, simple pleasures more precious.

Can the world be a better place for us who survived

And make us more grateful than ever to be alive?

Copyright Charles A. Bruns, 2021

The Queen of Corona

If me and Julio can ever find it

in the schoolyard,

we’re gonna beat the crap

out of it and be on the cover of Newsweek.

Then we’re going to make 

a basketball out of it,

and let every good college and pro player

pound it on the floor for a whole month.

And then we’re gonna turn it 

to a hard rubber disk,

and give every pro hockey player

a chance to whack it with a wooden stick.

Of course we’ll also shape it

into a soccer ball,

and make sure every futbol pro in the world

kicks it with all their might.

Eventually we’ll reduce it to a ball with strings 

wrapped tightly in cowhide,

and give every major league baseball player 

a bat to hit it hard hundreds of feet.

And then we’ll chisel it down even further

to a little ball with dimples,

and ask every golf tournament pro

to tee off on it with an iron club.

For good measure we’ll ask thoroughbred horse jockeys

and mighty race car engine drivers,

to run over it again and again and just leave it behind

in a trail of muddy dirt and dust.

But we can’t.

We can only avoid it like a plague

until it begins to whither and die.

And then me and Julio will find it 

and kill it off once and for all.

Copyright Charles A. Bruns, 2020