"This poem was written as a commentary due to work I did with the Eastern Shore branch of the Medical Reserve Corps of Virginia early in 2020. There are many migrant workers who travel to work there, and their difficult situation inspired this poem...."
Migrant Workers in the Time of COVID
in dead of night
with minimal light
they land on a familiar, alien shore
as they have twenty times before
arriving in silent-running skiffs
to work arduous, long shifts
to work jobs no one else will touch
to feed family back home, and such
a new peril during days and nights
worse than cops, worse than ICE
far more dangerous than those
a microscopic pest wreaks global woes
ill and illegal, in a strange land
rescue cannot be claimed by this band
neither doctor, nor treatment, nor sanctuary
and so, to work and back, they ferry
repatriating salary and hope
using strength and grit to cope
spreading illness and death
with each beleaguered breath
This poem and others in "Updraft" are available on Amazon. The illustration is an art quilt which illustrates 4 types of antibodies attacking viral particles during treatment for COVID-19 (quilt by the author).
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