“Backing Down” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán ...

“Backing Down”

by Suzán Jiván Mom
& Mom-Mom Suzán

Backing down
after sitting pat
acknowledging
continuing
social distancing
still needed
over longer periods
offering immediate relief
calling for greater transparency
expanding sick-leave
confronting catastrophe
getting cram courses
for living throughout disasters
after tabulating mass casualties
due to snippets of chemical memory
repeating themselves
with very little left to tell
at the epicenter of grim forecasts
cracked open, as doors, going floor to floor
triage centers, for short
picturing an ailing Mimi
singing to Rodolfo in a garret
in “La Bohème: Donde Lieta Usci”
by Giacomo Puccini,
“Goodbye, no hard feelings” ...