Wear a covering made of gauze
          that fits over the nose and mouth;
          Protecting not to catch dust and
          particles for the work not to pause—
          Perhaps be thrown out, be discri-
          minated, and received some shout.
          Toil from saving, eyes go swollen
          sick from the unseen shark in the dark.
          Those shadey spots could be seen
          thick and thin that left lots of mark.
          Tears shall fall, hope shall not die.
          Weary sighs, never heard a lie.
          
          It holds them chain—sicks are
          cheered for their pleas are heard.
          It holds them chain—lives are saved,
          not themselves but those who're brave.
          Children are crying, waiting for them
          coming.
          Hands are trembling, but there are
          musts of working.
          Things have never been solid neither
          have been veered;
          But the workers must be protected
          and be revered.
          True heroes—indeed!

Wanting so much, quickly turns to too much
Those who have much, don’t know what to do with so much
Greed and envy they invite
Long talks with eyes, that have seen too much
Hungry mouths on streets, empty bellies, cold feet, fake smiles, and sweaty palms
Street signs held by those who took too much
Left with nothing while standing for nothing
Victims of decisions
Living under a vision full of nightmares
Old scars that trace back to bad choices
Squeezing pennies out of dollars
While others throw dollars at hurt lovers
Wanting too much but not willing to pay attention, Life is a long sentence
And meditation is study hall
We are stuck identifying classes
But lack chemistry
Quick to jump to conclusions
like mathematicians
While producing too much in biology
Knowing about the human anatomy but fail to know who we ought to be
Let’s tip the scale and see what would happen if the have nots had more
And the rich were broke would that increase global peace or is that too much to ask for

A little cough, no worries, it will go away
More irritable next day, worrisome by third
Had better see a doc, but slept the last that night

Scattered world wide, by planeloads, unrevealed, unknown
Germinate in a week, spawn on breath, speech of death
Revived ancient bug, mutated, drug resistant.

Pandemics, long with us: Black Death was not the first
Now global rapid spread, global rapid response
Always ready, always surprised, always novel.

The fit didn’t survive, the survivors, the fittest
Catastrophic selection, months, not million years
Emptied earth, cleaned, reclaimed, to be fought for, again.

i saw the empty streets earlier-
the ones i took going to school.
i saw how the vendors hustle
even the public drivers too.

i read the minds—busier than ever
wondering ******* the time.
the unfortunate ones who didn't mind
the dangers of the streets— they know they can't hide.

now you, who didn't need to be a bee,
who's buzz isn't necessary,
how dare you say the streets are safe?
it is because you're in the hive?

if only all of us can go inside.
if only all of us can stay alive.

Hues of onyx fill the hemisphere,
                                   daylight sets artificially..

The glacier of life floats breathless,
          more mass underneath..

Beauty now drowns for profit...

Davenport Tomorrow
by Michael R. Burch

Davenport tomorrow ...
all the trees stand stark-naked in the sun.

Now it is always summer
and the bees buzz in cesspools,
adapted to a new life.

There are no flowers,
but the weeds, being hardier,
have survived.

The small town has become
a city of millions;
there is no longer a sea,
only a huge sewer,
but the children don't mind.

They still study
rocks and stars,
but biology is a forgotten science ...
after all, what is life?

Davenport tomorrow ...
all the children murmur through vein-streaked gills
whispered wonders of long-ago.

Keywords/Tags: Davenport, tomorrow, future, global warming, climate change, extinction, mutation, overpopulation, disease, trees, naked, leafless