Our founding member, Sandy Hale, remarked how this past year has been like a scary roller coaster ride. Forthwith – this poem. Imagine the screams, please.
We are locked in, with increasing frights
As we jolt upward toward hectic heights.
Savage statistics strain our emotional abilities
Of cases, pain and passings at senior facilities.
My old ticker thumps for hours and hours
Wonder if I can still sniff perfumed flowers.
Holding tight as we breach the coaster top
When is this plague ride ever going to stop?
Kids and grandkids reached just by Zoom and phone.
I increasingly feel sad and too often alone.
Masks, vaccines and fretting it’s all so intense
Even my contacts are curbed by social distance.
Our ride levels off and I timidly smile, but
Let’s not take that rough ride again for a long, long while.
I totter off the sweaty seat and gingerly recoup
But this Covid caper leaves me still pooped.
As pandemic pressure seems to be ending
My caution with contacts seems to be bending.
Not so scary, but
Need to be wary.
Deep fears wane; seem ready to grow faint
But Vicious Variants are stealthy and gone they sure ain’t.
We’ll soon regain our stride and our pride
But, please God, fix that terrible ride.
VIVA will bounce back this year with fine, new plays
For fans and friends – they’re with us always.
And if venues open and our budget so bequeath
We might fittingly stage “The Skin of Our Teeth”.
- by Doggerel Dan (a/k/a Mark Read)
