Jennifer Bird
School of Medicine and Public Health
2020
Poem
I feel this world start falling
Watch the people go insane
Pray to gods I don’t believe in
Ask if they still know my name.
I see the stats are climbing
Watch from windows, watch from screens,
Wonder if my expertise is useful
Or just useless little games.
I worry when I wake
I worry when I rest
I worry I won’t do enough
Or push the tides too fast.
I feel my friends start slipping
Cling to words that bind us tight
Hope they hear my voice is calling
Keep them safe and sound tonight.
My chest is tight and panicked
My head is clouded, sore
Want to lie and rest forever
Want to feel relief by dawn.
I know I cannot save this world
Can barely save myself
I just want to know there’s hope
Know there’s beauty in this hell.
I gasp for air, I close my eyes
But there’s not much I can do
Wait for calm to fill my lungs
Wait for time to heal the wounds.
The battles that we fight today
Are wars to win tomorrow
But the madness ebbs and flows
Hurts us more than we could know.
So wait with me awhile
Lie and tell me it’s okay
We can’t afford to lose our minds
Until this goes away.