Anno Domini 2020

Finishing my rounds y’all - to rouse you up from slumber! My name is Grief and I’m everywhere! 

The Koalas running for their life from the raging bushfires in Australia.
Helpless, dying fauna and flora engulfed by smoke and wildfires
In the Amazon forests and the mountains of California
And other parts of the United States of America.

People  seeking shelter from the Vietnamese and Cambodian floods
the monsoon rains in Bangladesh, China, Japan, Pakistan, Turkey, and Nepal
The earthquakes in the Philippines and Puerto Rico
The hurricanes and tornadoes in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Kentucky
And other parts of the United States of America.

The crying mother and child being separated
In Yemen, Syria, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia
And in the Border between Mexico and the United States of America.

Unrecognized, I swiftly doubled-down
A ball of crown-virus - I came, raging
bringing cytokine storms, pounding hard!
Maybe people will listen then.

I, Grief, speak!  Lend me your ears!

Mask up!  Stop focusing on how you look!  Look after others’ suffering instead.
Mask up!  Stop your lies and deceptions! Speak the truth and nothing but the truth.
Mask up!  Stop mere talk! Walk the talk!
Mask up!  You who exploited nature for money! Stop polluting the land, sky, and sea! 

I will travel throughout the world
To close your schools, your hotels, your amusement parks,
your bars, your houses of worship, your workplaces -
Neither your high priest nor your king can stop me!

Grief is my name!
Listen if you have eyes, see if you have ears!  
Through me you will learn to bend your knees and bow your heads -
And change your ways!