"Storm in the Mountains" by Albert Bierstadt‘Covid on a Clear Day’ by Laurie Holding The Society December 8, 2022 Covid-19, Culture, Poetry 5 Comments . Covid on a Clear Day One day I window watched for things to write; the next day I was lost, and underneath the spell of fever, hot, with skin stretched tight, I slept curled up with clenched and grinding teeth. Then came the dreams of elevator shafts that moved from side to side, not up and down, and misplaced babies, loosed on Huck Finn rafts. The nightmares drenched me, but, before I drowned, when those two weeks had passed, I stood and walked back to my window, weak, with blurry mind to peek outside and find myself quite shocked that all the world was managing just fine. My neighbors’ lawns and lives seemed much the same as last I sat behind this window frame. . . Laurie Holding lives in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. Several of her poems have placed or won in the Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest, Writer’s Digest Annual Poetry Contest, Goodreads Poetry Forum, and Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition. She is planning on a 2023 chapbook release, Sonnets and Their Shadows. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Trending now: 5 Responses jd December 8, 2022 Enjoyed reading your Sonnet, Laurie, so true and well stated. Good luck with your chapbook. The graphic is wonderful too, Evan. It’s true that you match them up beautifully to the poems. Reply Paul Freeman December 8, 2022 The cyclicality (my new word!?) and the matter-of-factness, without any political overtones, makes this about the best Covid poem I’ve come across. Two months before Covid started up I had the flu and was so sick all I could do was write a poem entitled ‘I’ve Got the Flu’. It’s just a litany of symptoms (unless I was patient zero), unlike the excellent, thoughtful and thought-provoking sonnet above. Thanks for the read, Laurie. Reply Cynthia Erlandson December 8, 2022 Excellent description, rhyme, and meter! (And crazy, believable dreams!) Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant December 8, 2022 Laurie, I can wholly relate to the experience you describe so vividly and so beautifully. I particularly like the humbling turn… no matter how badly we suffer, the world still spins, the grass still grows, all without so much as a black cloud of mourning hanging over our grave situation. Wonderful! Reply Allegra Silberstein December 8, 2022 Thank you for this fine poem about covid and your ending is so true. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
jd December 8, 2022 Enjoyed reading your Sonnet, Laurie, so true and well stated. Good luck with your chapbook. The graphic is wonderful too, Evan. It’s true that you match them up beautifully to the poems. Reply
Paul Freeman December 8, 2022 The cyclicality (my new word!?) and the matter-of-factness, without any political overtones, makes this about the best Covid poem I’ve come across. Two months before Covid started up I had the flu and was so sick all I could do was write a poem entitled ‘I’ve Got the Flu’. It’s just a litany of symptoms (unless I was patient zero), unlike the excellent, thoughtful and thought-provoking sonnet above. Thanks for the read, Laurie. Reply
Cynthia Erlandson December 8, 2022 Excellent description, rhyme, and meter! (And crazy, believable dreams!) Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant December 8, 2022 Laurie, I can wholly relate to the experience you describe so vividly and so beautifully. I particularly like the humbling turn… no matter how badly we suffer, the world still spins, the grass still grows, all without so much as a black cloud of mourning hanging over our grave situation. Wonderful! Reply
Allegra Silberstein December 8, 2022 Thank you for this fine poem about covid and your ending is so true. Reply