The News Comes Alive
Ideastream №78 Writer’s Prompt
I admittedly have been a bit cavalier during all of the talk of the Coronavirus, though I have dear friends in some of the countries hardest hit. They have all been calm as they discussed it, with seemingly no fear. I was unafraid for them. And so far, they’re fine.
But then I receive a call today with the news that someone I knew from my past, the grandson of my mother’s dear cousin in Wales, was fighting for his life. He’s too weak for a flight to London to receive more intensive care there. The outlook sounds grim.
He’s 49. With a young child.
I last saw him when he was 19 or so. He had lively eyes, confidence that made me smile, and a bit of a devil may care attitude. So strong. I adored him. It’s inconceivable he represents one of the statistics reported in the news.
So what does one do? We pray. And hope he makes it through. And in the meantime, we remember that boy of 19 that made us smile.
It really is a crisis. I feel that now.
So I had meant to do this writer’s prompt. It was sitting in my drafts folder. Somehow it fits. Just not the way I had planned it. Using ten words in a poem. They are italicized. (Thanks Xavier Van Holde.)
