- apocryphile
“Beyond Viral” by Diane Elayne Dees
Updated: Jun 6, 2020

No one told the termites not to swarm
this year. No one told the crawfish
not to build their towers in my yard.
No one told my dishwasher
not to suddenly grind the glass
that was lodged in its pump,
and no one told my body
not to develop pain and illness
that disrupt everything I do.
This is the truth that flows
beneath any pandemic:
that—despite any immorality,
ignorance, stupidity, or impatience
of the human species—
life courses on. It does not need
our permission to grow cells,
enact survival rituals, or follow instincts.
It does not care if we have paper towels
or shaggy hair or flawed software.
Life will not stand six feet away from us,
no matter how many masks we wear.
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