Pan - all
Demos - people

Everyone touched and fiddled with
tricked, cut, broken and hauled
across coals that hurt directly
or by degrees

More pernicious than a novel virus,
exposed to the utter selfishness
of folk who won’t even cover their mouths to cough
or at best will wear a cloth across their mouths
but leave their noses to bleed casual indifference

I want to love my fellow man and see them as allies
so I struggle to suppress my surprise
that too many would claw and fling
sad corpses of different colours or origins
to the rising tide
just to stay unhappily dry, never mind alive

Disposable gloved hands stretched out with open hearts,
basic ***** hygiene and an even playing field
are a tiny ask for all

Take a deep (covered) breath,
be deaf to the filthy fear peddlers
who try to cling to power
by screaming vitriol and division
one tweet and cable TV show at a time
and reach instead for the sublime and silly brilliance
of being human

new announcement:
due Monday at 11:59 PM
unit assignment
requires: more energy than I can muster right now.

each morning repeats;
wake up to notifications and expectations
forcing a mindset that is almost impossible to maintain
every minute that passes
is a minute wasted.

timelines approach,
all that is felt is
indescribable exhaustion
is that assignment really due,
or is this all my imagination?

this all feels like
an overlapping, metaphorical Sisyphus;
every day I push one boulder up a hill,
but there are several others deserving of my attention
and they are never ending.

Take a seat and settle in
The masquerade will soon begin
Fallen heroes and angels in the snow
I listen in and clutch the ropes
Gridlocked traffic lines the roads
Satellites are good to go
All the people cheering
For the man who breaks the ceiling
Astronauts who time forgot
Pioneers and cosmonauts
The hairs upon the dogs stand still
I feel a shiver and then a chill
The flowers withered in the gardens
Jet engines roaring
All systems go, the show is starting
I ****** a feather floating in midair
Frozen cold and solid, caught her icy glare
We're living proof of bitter days to come
Chase the rabbits down the holes they run
Hold the light don't let it go now
Grab the love don't let it slow down
Love, joy, grief, belief, hope, and fear
Seize the moment
Hold it dear
Don't let it end like this
Don't hold out waiting for the final kiss

I want to know the the truth
The privileged secrets known by the few
But they say it's better this way
A light in the dark
A hint of ignorant bliss on the wind
But what do I know?
I'm a everyday fool
I sing in the rain
I feel nice and safe
Or so I'm told anyway
I'm a no name
They laugh in my face
They dance on my grave
The ending's the same
It will all be ok
Such and such #strong
Remain calm and carry on
I'll guess I'll play along...
For now anyway

It all began with a simple search for a cure.
But tomorrow is filled with fear for sure
Crocodiles and snakes will now need to lure--
Who will go to jail next to keep the nation “secure”?

The Filipino ferocity is finely defined.
We will always fight until the end of the line.
For the justice, we’ll charge then add a finel
Everything that has started, finds an end in design.

What would the past “terrorist” Jose Rizal say
If he knew the elected far from duty astray?
Would he join the gagging nation in this age and day
For rights and freedoms nabbed like thieves all the way?

Politicians aren’t gods to be expected of mercy.
So we’ll do all the work and then make them see.
Do they witness and laugh, lay back, take it easy?
Are their souls still present or just absentee?

Do they not hear all the people who sing
In the Kawit-like pride at independence’s first ring?
Where now is the candidate who won by promising
That he’ll be fine in hell if we were paradise-living?

Everyone who was chained will meet freedom too.
Just so if peace was the goal, real and true.
Won’t stand anymore for a sky in dark hue.
There’s a change coming in the way the wind blew.

Don’t walk away, and keep your eyes open.
Listen to what was spoken, read up on what is written.
History will remember all our actions taken,
If to God, people, or nation, your loyalty was given.