A Mystical Virus

Let’s not pretend – we never saw it coming,
we did.
Let’s not pretend – we didn’t hear the cries,
we heard them.
Let’s not pretend – we’ve never seen this before,
we forgot that it happened previously, in other times.
Let’s not pretend – we weren’t fully aware,
we just didn’t listen when it first appeared.
Let’s not pretend – we didn’t know what to do,
we delayed to do the necessary.
Let’s not pretend – we weren’t living in fear,
we felt like running, with nowhere to go.
Let’s not pretend – we believed it wouldn’t happen to us,
we ignored the numbers until they bellowed back.

We’ve spent generations to raze forests,
suffocate air and poison seas.
Now the World has spoken back
in ways we might finally listen to.
A mystical, red fire implores us
to change things – lit by a wisdom
beyond what we know.
So let’s not try to just put it out,
until we truly hear what’s being said.
Once we’ve understood, we need to use
that heat to burn a new path,
its illumination to reveal that way.

Craig O’Flaherty

Published 27 March 2020