Holy shit…
What a year you were
After 2016
I thought I had seen a terrible year
I was wrong
Some want to extract you from their history
To strike you from the record
I can’t say I haven’t thought of it
But still, you happened
And we have to live with that
So many you took
Not just lives
But jobs, freedoms, relationships
Time together, time missed
Time never to be spent again
Pressure pushed our flaws to the surface
Our festering wounds
Still aching
Were relit and reopened
Hoping that maybe it would be different this time
You didn’t end
You have yet to end
I can’t get out of 2020
Half a year apart, still
I feel your grip
So much truth in this poem. Everything in our lives was stress tested. If we don’t reflect on it and learn, we won’t be ready for the next shakeup, right? But when can we allow ourselves to move on? Your last stanza challenges the reader to grapple with that. Thank you for this poem.