CONTAGION
CONTAGION
By Mary K O'Melveny
When dispersed, dandelion seed heads, also known as “blowballs,” can travel vast distances due to a unique morphology of the pappus, a fine hair-like material which holds the spherical seed heads and enables their wind-aided dispersal. The pappus adapts, based on wind or air moisture, closing its plume of seeds until optimal conditions for maximum dispersal and germination occur.
the metaphor seems right
too obvious of course
as arenas fill up with
chanting shrieking clapping
sounds of sickness backbeats
to our long agony
everyone in MAGA
hats or face masks Look
to your right or your left
infection will arrive
like a dandelion’s
pappus as it sails off
carried by wind to new
meadows, gliding down like
wartime propaganda
hoping for fallow fields
and willing minds there is
no ripcord just free fall
furtive looks yield nothing
no obvious symptoms
everyone could carry
these germs no one will tell
truths everyone will shift
blame new tears will be shed
you cannot lock us all
up cannot invent a
failsafe test find a cure
hiding inside some lab
mouse even if we steal
back money from builders
of walls a plague still looms
dress up in your white coats
smile at your neighbors who
are about to lock their
doors so you can’t enter
wash your hands one more time
then beg them for mercy
show them how your face mask
can repel each viral
blast better than theirs
tell them you have never
seen a hot zone or helped
a victim promise you will
never argue about
anything important
won’t blow any whistles
tell them you are grateful
you will not doubt again
Published on New Verse News - February 29, 2020