Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) was quite a visionary, and perhaps no other poem sums up the 2020 coronavirus pandemic than his classic poem "Because he could not stop the Virus" (below on the left). Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "Because I could not stop for Death" (below on the right).
| By Emmett Lee Dickinson: Because he could not stop the Virus – The Virus stopped for him – The Carnage brought on by himself – And pure Absurdity. He slowly moved – He knew no haste For he had put away His labor and his rallies too, For Incivility – We closed the Schools, sent Children home A Recess – with no Food – We closed the Shops and Cafés too – We sat in Solitude – Steadily – Time passed by – The Days now Quarantine and Chill – For only Netflix, my Pal – My Diet – is Surreal – We gasped as all the ERs saw A Swelling of the Crowd – Their Masks were scarcely visible – Their Service – was Profound – Since then – ’tis Daily now – we get A Briefing of the Day They’ve televised the Horse’s Ass And his Insanity – | By Emily Dickinson: Because I could not stop for Death – He kindly stopped for me – The Carriage held but just Ourselves – And Immortality. We slowly drove – He knew no haste And I had put away My labor and my leisure too, For His Civility – We passed the School, where Children strove At Recess – in the Ring – We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain – We passed the Setting Sun – Or rather – He passed Us – The Dews drew quivering and Chill – For only Gossamer, my Gown – My Tippet – only Tulle – We paused before a House that seemed A Swelling of the Ground – The Roof was scarcely visible – The Cornice – in the Ground – Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet Feels shorter than the Day I first surmised the Horses' Heads Were toward Eternity – |
A Few Notes from Donald Trump:
* The corona virus, this is there new hoax.
* We have it totally under control. It's going to be just fine.
* Just stay calm. It will go away.
* Some of the doctors say it will wash through, it will flow through.
* I like the numbers being where they are. I don't need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn't our fault .
* It's just one person coming in from China.
* One day, it's like a miracle. It will disappear.
* The virus will miraculously go away.
* By April, during the month of April, the heat generally kills this kind of virus, so that would be a good thing
* When we have 15 people and within a couple of days it will be close to zero.
* We really think we've done a great job in keeping it down to a minimum.
* This is a very contagious -- this is a very contagious virus. It's incredible. But it's something that we have tremendous control of.
* We're very close to a vaccine.
* You take a solid flu vaccine --you don’t think that would have an impact or much of an impact on corona?
* I don’t think it’s inevitable. It probably will. It possibly will. It could be at a very small level, or it could be at a larger level. Whatever happens, we’re totally prepared.
* This is a flu. This is like a flu.
* I didn’t know people died from the flu.
* I think the 3.4 percent (death rate) is really a false number. Now, this is just my hunch, and — but based on a lot of conversations with a lot of people that do this.
* Anybody that wants a test can get a test.
* This blindsided the world. And I think we've handled it very, very well.
* And taking early intense action, we have seen dramatically fewer cases of the virus in the United States than are now present in Europe.
* This is the most aggressive and comprehensive effort to confront a foreign virus in modern history.
* We have a problem that a month ago nobody ever thought about.
* I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.
* I don't believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators.
* I think we're doing very well. But, you know, it's a two-way street. They (governors) have to treat us well, also. They can't say, "Oh gee, we should get this, we should get that."
* The federal government is not supposed to be out there buying vast amounts of items and then shipping. You know, we're not a shipping clerk.
* I would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter.
* Easter is a very special day for me. So I think Easter Sunday you'll have packed churches all over our country—I think it will be a beautiful time. And it's just about the timeline that I think is right.
* I like this stuff. I really get it. People are surprised that I understand it.
* I don't take responsibility at all.
* I alone can fix things.
RSS Feed
