Essential Worker, a Poem by Linda M. Crate

For the collection: 'Life in the time of #COVID'

I am green with envy

for the girl

months ago with narry a worry

or a care,

but now this virus is everywhere;

there's even a case here in my county

as of today and i am scared

to leave my house—

I am considered an essential worker,

but I don't want to head

into my work place;

just want to stay home where I feel

safe and secure from harm

don't want to go into the mouth of

a place where people don't take the

pandemic seriously,

just yesterday a man told me this virus

was just a political ploy;

but viruses don't care about your

politics or whether or not you're a good person.

---

Linda M. Crate's works have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies both online and in print. She is the author of six poetry chapbooks, the latest of which is: 'More Than Bone Music' (Clare Songbirds Publishing House, March 2019). She's also the author of the novel 'Phoenix Tears' (Czykmate Books, June 2018). Recently she has published two full-length poetry collections 'Vampire Daughter' (Dark Gatekeeper Gaming, February 2020) and 'The Sweetest Blood' (Cyberwit, February 2020).