Welcome to the first day of “Creative Corona”, an initiative to highlight the work of the virtual community of writers associated with the MA in Creative Writing at UCC. Our first writer up, with two poems, is the Cork novelist, short story writer and poet, William Wall, who was conferred with a PhD in Creative Writing by UCC in 2019.
The Virus: Fiumicino Airport, Rome
in the almost empty airport
masked ones wait for doom
they gaze at their phones
like heroes to the oracle
the numbers rising hour by hour
inexorable as a spring tide
some have seen roadblocks
the army waving them down
some have come by train
every traveller masked
how did we get this far
we wash our hands
and wash them again
we have not seen hands so clean
since Pontius Pilate
we touch nothing
friends and acquaintances
greet with polite nods
no hugging no kissing
no holding hands
this is our future
soon we will gaze at the world
through hazmat eyeglass
listen only to our earbuds
the sweet sound of fear
at eighty decibels
(February 26th 2020)
The Ides of March
today is your birthday
and the day dawns bright
and bird-filled
bullfinches stripping
early flowers from the plum
a goldfinch’s garish flash
when the rain comes
it falls as soft as ash and is gone
a clearing is coming they say
already the west is lighter
the news continues bad
we message the children
strangers send love
we remake old contacts
and avoid old friends and relatives
on the beach we all wave
but avoid salutation
we turn our face away
in case the spring breeze
carries contagion
(March 15th 2020)
William Wall