Listing
candles, matches
lantern oil
batteries
No, that’s for power outages.
The weather is fine.
groceries! food to last (For how long? The weather is fine)
wipes
soap
disinfectant
toilet paper
(Why are the shelves empty? The weather is fine)
To do:
batten hatches
buckets of water for flushing
top up gas tank
No, that’s for hurricanes, for when
the lines might be down for days.
But the taps work, the pump runs, the electric remains.
Transportation systems go.
The weather is fine.
Bucket list
No, get to that another time.
Stay in place, isolate.
Reach out.
Share what you can.
Enjoy the weather.
The weather is fine.
That’s what I wrote and didn’t post for Bjorn’s “Meeting the Bar” Listen to Lists Challenge last Thursday. That was a week ago, a day before I went into the grocery store and saw how much things had changed; two days before I got notice that we had Monday to prepare for a three-week school closure; before I came to suspect that it will be more than three weeks. Last Thursday, the twilight-zone feeling that was just beginning to cloak this community was countered by humor and hardy spirits, though with admissions to never having seen the like. Many have certainly weathered discomforts and isolation for a few days and so prepared as they would for any good blow, a snowstorm, a hurricane. Some prepared minimally, others rapaciously.
This Thursday we wish each other well and walk a line stretched taut between alarm and optimism. We continue to remark upon the weather, on how spring’s come early, though some say snow yet to come.
Dawn’s a noisy time
Songbirds belfry budded branch
Insouciant crows caw
******************************************************
So, a retake on a list poem and a sort of haibun for Open Link Night at d’Verse Pub for Poets, graciously hosted by Grace. So glad the pub is still open. Thank you to all who pour and to all who partake. May all be well.
A week ago I went and couldn’t believe how empty the shelves were. They told us they would be restocked. Ventured out yesterday and it was even worse. I thought I’d hit the jackpot when I found a pkg of toilet paper.
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Ha! You did. Guess what special Hell awaits hoarders? Yep, no TP to be had.
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I love the poetry accented by your description of the “insouciant crows”
Every so often I read something that just rings a bell, ya know?
This is great.
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I’m so glad this rang for you. I appreciate your commenting.
I am just around the house these days and have been keeping an eye (mostly ear) on the birds and especially enjoy watching the crows. Or are they watching me?
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I forgot about those buckets of water for flushing.
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Hurricanes and power outages I can handle. Wiping down all handles? Keeping away from other pubs and people? Well, the birds have been great company. Thanks for coming by.
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You are like a breath of fresh air. Loved your list with the cross-outs.
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The cross outs are meant to convey not completion but rather irrelevance, as we’ve never had to make a list for this before. It truly felt like a hurricane coming with people wanting to prepare but also gathering to drink and be merry in the calm before the storm. Probably shared a whole lotta virus in that particular phase. We are getting educated. Of course now it’s long distance learning. Thanks for coming by. Always a pleasure!
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Very clever list poem, and a creative way to make a poetic statement about the pandemic. I sure agree we walk a tightrope between caution and optimism.
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Thanks. And then there’s the “Pandemic? What pandemic?” folks out and about. I’m just following directions myself, and never more grateful for the internet. Making the most of having more time around the house. Grateful to have a house.
Thanks for risking a visit!
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A wonderful poem of lists that continue to beg the question…. but the weather is nice!
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Thank goodness. People and kids are not stuck inside here. That helps tremendously.
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I went out and mowed my lawn today. Kids were playing on the trampoline next door.
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Great list poem!
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Thank you, and thanks for stopping by. Much appreciated.
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You know I bought a candle last week, reflexively, myself. You never know.
Great capture of our utter confusion at this novel crisis. (K)
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Thanks, that’s what I was going for, that’s what I saw in the store. Confusion. Uncertainty. Anyway, good for you. Light that candle.
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I will!
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I will be enjoying my small collection of homeopathic scented candles, no matter what!
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This is sheer Brilliance–BRAVO!!
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Thank you very much. I wasn’t confident in the poem(s) but went on with it, so I’m glad if it works.
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Definitely worked for me 🙂
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+ 1 on the cross-outs. So like how the list shows the poet (and all of us) floundering – and the comfort in the final haiku.
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Thank you. Though it’s the crows who are most comfortable. But it is good to see spring and all its attendants carrying on normally.
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To a degree I envy those with cars. Impossible for me to stock up; I have to carry everything I buy. And then where do I put it; I haven’t the story cupboards. Still, I’m a survivor; I shall get by.
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I am sure of that!
I wish you, all of us, well through these coming weeks.
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We will survive. It won’t last forever.
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I really like the ambiguous title: listing can mean writing lists or leaning to the side as in a damaged ship listing to starboard, which is how some of us are feeling at the moment. Bravo on the crossed out items and the rhetorical questions, ones we are all asking, and the ‘asides’ that show this situation is not like any other crisis. The final advice is perfect.
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Thank you for your thorough thoughtful comments. Yeah, gotta try and end on a positive. I crossed out Isolation as I disagree with some of the terms used, like social isolation. Distance, yes, isolation, no. We have all sorts of means to check in on one another and should. And more than ever, sharing is caring. Extreme hoarding is only exacerbating the situation and making it difficult to ascertain real and actual need. If things had been rationed, or at least reasonable, from the beginning needs could be met for all.
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Yes. The situation changes daily. We don’t know what tomorrow brings. But I do know that when I awake in the morning, the birds will be singing, giving thanks for a new day. I think it best to join in with their song.
Stay safe and well.
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You too, Buddy. You too.
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love your lists D, realistic and poetic!
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Thank you.
Dang the realism though. Sigh.
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lol true but helps us accept the changes better 🙂
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That was fun and evocative. Love lists, crosswords and cross outs. Just wrote on this topic 5 minutes ago. http://www.looseleafnotes.com/2020/03/going-viral/
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Thanks for coming by and commenting and thanks for sharing. Yours is short and sweet. We have to smile for those that can’t muster one of their own.
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Strangely enough, going back a week later the shelves are full again… but I think I have food for a month if I need.. and we can still go out, and the weather is fine.
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Thanks for coming by. I am getting a lot of walking in. The weather has been quite nice, and I have time. I liked the list idea, but somehow lost track of it at the time of your post. Oh yeah, back then I was working.
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Love this post and your poem. Insouciant crows are worrisome as they like to tell all. 🙂
The stores in our area have good days and bad days as far as being stocked. We’re lucky to have several stores closeby and there is always the option for delivery.
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We seem to run out of paper products rather quickly. We are now in “shelter at home” and I’m not shopping unless I really really need to. I didn’t hoard, but I’m stocked.
Thank you for your comments. We write on, ey?
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We are in “shelter at home”, as well. We have a limited supply of paper products. I ordered TP from Amazon – easier than putting up with people at the grocery store.
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I heard even amazon was backed up, no pun intended.
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