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If I Fail, He Dies

A Pandemic Poem

By D. J. ReddallPublished 2 years ago 1 min read
Red Cross Nurses during the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918

Palpate the grammar of that sentence, please

The arrangement of pronouns and powers

The sorting out of a world with disease

The syntax and semantics of last hours

What an appeal to ancient, foolish tropes

Quaint myths and desiccated shibboleths

The “I” is the nurse, full of skills and hopes

The “He,” the patient, with the worst of deaths

For if she falls, another will rise up

Masks and uniforms will aid the process

Which hand delivers the pure, saving cup

Is nothing compared to His ills’ redress

We need myths: we are culture’s frail creatures

Lost without a plot and clear roles to play

But we can rewrite egregious features

Producing a story that suits our own day

Gender is not a metric of value

Plagues call for our stories’ careful review

social commentary

About the Creator

D. J. Reddall

I write because my time is limited and my imagination is not.

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Comments (3)

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  • Test2 years ago

    Your writing is excellent. I must say, I was thoroughly impressed.

  • Well written poem. Excellent work.

  • Oooo, I learnt a new word today. Shibboleths! Your poem was fantastic!

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