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The Virus is a Marathon

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Tracy Mitchell
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The Virus is a Marathon

Post by Tracy Mitchell » Wed Nov 11, 2020 7:51 am

~

The Virus is a Marathon

Good morning. More than 10 percent
of Oregon residents have evacuated
their villages and homes.

Sanctuary in gymnasiums
revisits the nightmare
of smallpox in blankets.

Northern Lights weld
a slow drift toward Siberia
followed by a newly fluid
magnetic north.

The ringing in your ears never stops–
morphs toward a sound of Scheherazade.
Voices reconstitute as ring tones.

The world’s first single-probe
whole-body ultrasound connects
magnetic you
to your mobile device.

Live-tissue bots in confederation
massage a cluster in your brain
to release a spring wave of joy.

Your hand begins to twitch.


~

indar
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Re: The Virus is a Marathon

Post by indar » Wed Nov 11, 2020 12:43 pm

This is wonderful. My sense on first read was that it is beautiful--lyrical even, which only adds to the irony and, as Yeats might say: "the union of opposites". 

On a personal note Rimsky Korsakov's Scheherazade was my first discovery of classical music at age 15 followed by Rite of Spring--love those Russian composers.

The current treatment of the covid virus here in the US does indeed echo the purposeful spread of small pox among natives, not quite the same, of course, but as deadly and as heartless on the part of leadership.

Northern Lights weld
a slow drift toward Siberia
followed by a newly fluid
magnetic north.


I caught a bit on this S--did you intend the word "weld"? should it be followed by "to"? e.g. the slow drift toward Siberia is welded to a newly fluid magnetic north (hasn't magnetic north always shifted around?) The analogy to a shift in everything we thought to be true and permanent is appropriate for sure. 

One of your dreamlike, insightful writes that take in a global perspective and still is heartbreakingly personal ---love it.

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Colm Roe
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Re: The Virus is a Marathon

Post by Colm Roe » Wed Nov 11, 2020 7:48 pm

I'm struggling to get a handle on this Tracy.
The population of Oregon is similar to the Republic, and while the cases there have risen, they're still lower than the numbers we had a few weeks ago (1200+).
I get a sense that it's a dig on the Red (Republican/Trump) mentality, and is quite political in other directions too.
Sorry I can't be more specific; I'll wait for other hints :)

indar
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Re: The Virus is a Marathon

Post by indar » Thu Nov 12, 2020 12:20 pm

To my read as a resident of a western state that burned by the thousands of acres, this:

Good morning. More than 10 percent
of Oregon residents have evacuated
their villages and homes.

Sanctuary in gymnasiums
revisits the nightmare
of smallpox in blankets.


speaks of the choice many were forced to make in Oregon and elsewhere, risk burning to death at home or risk being crowded into shelters and catching covid. 

The inattention of the current admin to so many issues such as global warming and the pandemic is as horrific as the distribution by the US government of smallpox infected blankets to native Americans as a sneaky form of genocide. And then there's the Russia/trump alliance.

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Dansinger
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Re: The Virus is a Marathon

Post by Dansinger » Fri Nov 13, 2020 9:19 am

I love the "sound" of this poem. It feels like a bloke reading the news on the radio you just turned on. (Hint: never turn on the radio before lunch. Or dinner. Or ever, really. ;) )

I can feel that it's very political, but as a Lowlands dweller who's never been that far from home, I think I'm missing out on most nuances here.

Tim J Brennan

Re: The Virus is a Marathon

Post by Tim J Brennan » Fri Nov 13, 2020 9:48 pm

Tracy,

I haven't really been anywhere since last spring. Still writing, but....all I can say in reply to this poem is that America lost the ability to empathize w/anyone quite a while ago. Trumpeter, like some kind of cancerous boil, only further boiled it. But it's been beneath the skin for quite awhile now. 

As to the poem, I don't like the nod toward Oregon. What you write about encompasses all. Introducing Oregon so early clearly shuts down the Everyman reader.

I do like the last line muchly. It's a fine tie up and bow.   

 

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Tracy Mitchell
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Re: The Virus is a Marathon

Post by Tracy Mitchell » Tue Nov 17, 2020 2:45 pm

It took me a bit to respond to this wonderful feedback, in large part because I still coming to grips with what I think about the draft.

Tim, I you may be right about Oregon -- It felt like it fit so naturally when I was writing, a starting point. But now I see it might just be a bad patch-job. And yes, by removing it, the scope of the poem would be seriously reduced. I don't know how I feel about that.

Colm, Danzinger -- I don't usually consider enough what readers may lack in background and context for the poem. I can cogitate long and hard about what additional facts I need to include -- and the balance too often is between poetry and comprehensibility. I don't often get that right. Thanks for giving this a go. For what its worth, Indar gives the background info with respect to the Oregon fires referenced.

Indar -- thanks for your kind and generous reading. As always, you get me thinking about how to tighten this up, and also how to make it project more.

Thanks for the feedback -- very helpful.

Cheers.

T

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