I thought he was my friend
until on March 18
he spewed his hate
and labeled me
a New York liberal.
His snarky friends
from
nowheresville
were making fun of
Cuomo and Scarsdale
while my family
was in lockdown and
my Aunt Mary was dying.
It’s a blue state thing
they wrote.
Like if I live in a blue state
I deserve to die.
I told him off.
He unfriended me.
“I think it’s because you are too much
for the guy. And Teri, I’m saying that in a good way.”
That’s what a true friend said.
My Aunt gave her ventilator
to somebody else.
She was buried on my birthday
and by April 6
10,000 in the U.S.
were dead.
What do 10,000 people
look like?
I found a photo
and printed it.
I ran my fingers over the
tapestry of faces and flags.
No red or blue or
black or brown or
white demarcations.
Packed together,
because it was
before our world
changed.
April 11
was always a
sad day.
But this April 11
20,000 were dead
and my sad seemed
meaningless in comparison.
I printed a second copy
of the 10,000 photo
and glued it
next to the other one.
It felt wrong to glue them
together.
And then 10,000 more by
April 16.
So I printed another one
and this time it felt
right to glue
them together.
I wept because
the triptych was
beyond words.
Four days later
Another 10,000.
Up to 40,000 now.
I printed the photo.
But I refused to glue it.
And then there was that
imbecilic friend
who wrote that more
people die from
the flu than Coronavirus.
Dr. Nobody.
I wanted to cut
her down to size
with my words.
I won’t rest until
I do.
Maybe she’ll
read this
and dump me.
April 24, another 10,000.
It took me three days
to finally print the
photo out.
50,000 dead
in the U.S.
and the WHO says
the worst is yet
to come.
And now today
another 10,000.
60,438 dead
in the U.S.
I thought about how to
share this with you.
I asked myself if I should print it out
yet again.
Yes, show them.
I didn’t want to,
but I felt compelled to
print and glue
them all next to
each other.
To show you
60,000.
This is heart wrenching & so effective, Teri. I just had a similar defriending experience. Worth not talking about anything with her for a long while.
It’s hard to walk away from the people I care about, but enough is enough. Stay safe my friend.
You captured this in the most heartfelt way. Numbers and words are meaningless if they don’t relate to people. Your aunt and your friend died. Those are two, but they mean so much more than that “friend” who does not deserve to be called such. And where is the leadership we need so much now? Governor Cuomo and Dr Fauci and here to help and reassure us, but those who look to trump as their savior are doomed.
Thank you for your kind words, Vicki. And indeed, where is the Federal leadership? Let’s hope November 3rd turns this freak show around.
Very impactful. And I’m so sorry for your loss, Teri.
Thanks so much Carissa.
Teri, are you still blogging? It’s getting worse every day. I am praying for this country, this world. I hope you’re safe. Keep writing.
Yes, Dawn, I am still blogging. Thanks for your uplifting comment and stay safe. We are a strong country and we will get past this.