public scare
shelves are bare
everywhere
germ warfare
must beware
tempers flare
sad affair
be aware
none to spare
it’s unfair
selfless share
would be rare
do we dare
do we care
nothing there
say your prayer
Public scare
lit bits and pieces
Snippets of learning and life
lit bits and pieces 
Right?
Your minimalist approach to the scare is moving and right to the point. And yes prayer!
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Yes, love your poem its short lines capture the sense of bareness so well, oh my goodness, people sure know how to panic. At least your poem throws a little touch of humour into the mix!
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This hits home. We found the same reality yesterday in store after store, and we’ve had no reported cases of coronavirus here in Idaho.
“Selfless share
Would be rare “
Makes me wonder if my neighbors w/ their huge storage rooms filled w/ food, non perishables, and who knows what else (it’s a religious thing) would share w/ us.
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I wonder too, Glenda, if they would share. You know, brotherly love and all …
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It’s almost akin to what I call -the French Toast panic- of eggs, bread, milk and other essentials when a weatherperson forecasts a major storm. The quick short lines make this a fun write even as it also adds to urgency of the moment.Well done.
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Henceforth, I am borrowing “French Toast panic.” Thank you, Raivenne 🙂
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These are definitely unusual times. I can’t believe you were able to write a rhyming poem that feels so brief and bare. Say a prayer may be our best response.
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I wondered if anyone would interpret “nothing there, say your prayer” not as the bare shelves but as the uncaring hearts of people who do things like fight over toilet paper …
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Sad but true
My experience too
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Ha! Thanks for your rhymed reply 🙂
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Nailed it here, Fran. Sign at a store here encouraged people to purchase only what they needed. I think it made people at least stop and think. Here’s to calmer days ahead.
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Saw a news clip tonight of women fighting over toilet paper … I will never understand. Unbelievable,
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I love the way the “nothing there” line is just ambiguous enough to make me wonder if you’re still talking about the shelves, or about our own sense of humanity and decency.
Love this post, and it connects so strongly with what so many of us are feeling. Thank you.
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You are clearly on my same wavelength with that line – thank YOU.
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Great poem! I have not stockpiled cleaning wipes because I don’t normally use them. But I am starting to rethink this strategy! Maybe I need to buy some plain old bleach.
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Thank you! Here’s to supplies returning to normal … soon…
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Here’s some levity to go along with your bare shelves: one of my library volunteer moms (an engineer by schooling) said that at one store, the liquid soap shelves were bare…but the bars of soap sat untouched. Many of them even stated “antibacterial” on their wrappers. She just had to chuckle. Soap is soap, folks! Meanwhile, our statewide library conference in Houston has been cancelled; sigh.
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Please… what’s become of our collective reasoning? Our rationality? These times bring out the best and worst of us – I am still hoping for the best.
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The terse lines combined with the repetitive rhyme gives this poem a sense of inevitable forward motion that really matches the panic around us right now. So many lines lend themselves to multiple interpretations, but I especially like these, “none to spare/ it’s unfair/ selfless share/ would be rare”
Fingers crossed people move towards societal rather than individual responses soon.
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I love that you describe the lines as “terse” – and that you see multiple interpretations. Thank you and yes, please let us collectively remember the greater good.
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Shopping and a trip to visit my mom at her nursing home yesterday = this. Wonderfully written.
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You did it again! So much meaning packed in so few words. Your way with words is so effortless and efficient. Does it take you longer to draft pieces like this?
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With poetry — one or two lines materialize in my head and then it’s usually not too hard. A couple of poems took me months to hammer out. But as a general rule – they’re easier than the others because of the “beats” I hear. I can sometimes hum the beat and words will come. And – thank you for your amazing words. They mean so much to me.
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