Starfish on a Beach: The Pandemic Poems

by Margaret Randall PhD

Overview

Starfish on a Beach: The Pandemic Poems grew out of the first months of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. When some of them were posted on Facebook, readers responded immediately to identify with her take on what we were all experiencing. These poems reflect the fear, isolation, and horror we felt as society—as we watched public life close down, people were urged to stay distant from one another, wear face masks, and wash our hands frequently. Many of us lost jobs; some of us lost businesses. We saw beloved family members and friends sicken, and some of them die. We watched helplessly as sources of income disappeared and the future seemed uncertain. But I also began thinking about other aspects of life through the lens of this situation: Have we brought this plague upon ourselves by our carelessness and lack of accountability to global warming? Does our social organization really meet our needs? Why are some communities suffering so much more than others? These poems reflect all this and more. They are offered in concern, anger, and also hope for a different future. These poems predate the killing of George Floyd, so the focus remains on health and isolation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781609406158
Publisher:	Wings Press
Publication date:	10/01/2020
Pages:	76
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.20(d)

About the Author

Margaret Randall is a feminist poet, writer, photographer and social activist. She is the author of over 150 books. She is the recipient of the 2019 Haydée Santamaría Medal from Casa de las Americas in Havana, and the prestigious 2019 Poet of Two Hemispheres Prize, presented by Ecuador’s Poesía en Paralelo Cero. In 2017, she was awarded the Medal of Literary Merit by Literatura en el Bravo, Chihuahua, Mexico. The University of New Mexico granted her an honorary doctorate in letters in 2019. In 2020 she was given the George Garrett Award by AWP.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

COVTD-19 2

We Do Not Know 4

A Picture is Worth 5

Our Resolve Must Be Stronger 7

Starfish on a Beach: A Fable for 2020 9

Statistics 10

Beneath the Waves 11

Fashioning Poems from the Trembling 12

Our Conversation has Changed 13

The Quick Turn of a Screw 14

Who Knows How Many Socks and Scarves 15

One-Part Dread to Two of Calm 17

I Miss 19

Clean 20

Better than Nothing 21

State of Exception 23

This Time No One Saw Coming 25

Memory Tries to Get Our Attention 27

Holograms of Hope 28

Ying Ying and Lee Lee 31

Something Will have to Be Different 33

If Each Facemask Came with a Poem 34

The Virus as Metaphor 36

Mother's Lavender Ruana 37

Trap a Minute or Two 38

Crisis in Present Tense 39

The Poet Embraces a Changed World 40

Like a Flower's Pollen 42

The Sun Will Rise Tomorrow 44

Welcome the Next Clear Breath 46

Blue or Pink 48

Spiral 49

Eighty Times More 51

The Pandemic Picks and Chooses 53

David against Invading Goliath 54

Remember Your Eyes 56

Some Questions in a Time of Crisis 57

When the Crisis is Over 58

About the Author 59