you’re drowning in the news (covid-19)
You’re drowning in the news
It sucks you in, like
quicksand
but you chose it
maybe
This piece of you was already here
Waiting, underneath the surface
the part of you that knows
the earth is dying, humans
are already dying
It jumps at the opportunity to scream apocalypse
Order an emergency kit
Order food for thirty days
Just in case, you say. Just in case
but if you really needed it, all
would already be lost
A caged lion
The feeling leaps at the drip
feed of poison
Thinking it’s food
It’ll keep itself alive
Every hour of every day
Breaking, breaking
Important information you
Must know
To prevent dying
But we are all dying
Headlines crash your body
Up
Down
Up
Down
Up
Down
Up
Down up down up down up down
You can’t turn it off, because then you wouldn’t
Know.
And knowing is not safer, but you
can pretend it is
Since maybe it is the first time you are getting a glimpse of your insignificance
How vulnerable, you are
you don’t know how to grow your own food
Can’t catch or skin an animal
Can’t provide for yourself at all
You can panic, at this
or you can realize you’ve already known
This is how it’s been all along
the year was never protected
If you turn it off
If you turn it off, and notice how your world becomes quieter
maybe you will see your friends, after all
maybe we will be a community
Maybe you will wash your hands more
than before
Maybe you will still hug your friends, because human touch
boosts your immune system
Maybe you will notice how the dripping
Of panic
into your brain all day long
Was not serving a purpose at all
Maybe you will notice how you are at the mercy
of the systems
corporations
Governments
… as always
Maybe you will notice how you are okay
I wonder, if it happened
The way your panic says it could
If humans would band together, or if we’d
destroy
riot
attack
We’ve survived throughout history
because of the way we come together
because of cooperation
Rationality
is the gift that comes out of quiet
is the gift that comes out of an overarching
perspective
You choose how you respond
that is the medicine
Turn off your drip feed
You don’t need it
If you liked this piece, you might also enjoy:
– Maybe one day I will tell my children
– The way you have been taught to feel is wrong
– 9 things you must understand to stop letting doubt and fear run your life
– Your wake-up call for how you’re living your life right now