#DecemberPoetryChallenge #Day2 "Masked"

---

Word on the street

are the discarded masks

on the road, bike path, or concrete

it's festering Covid 19 in public

and what about the city

increase the trash receptacles on street corners

instead of masks decorating the crosswalks and paths

and that is a pity, the not pretty

Littering

the medical blue issued box

PPE is all too common now

Please discard them post wearing them

safely somehow

This global pandemic is on the increase

Find a way to rid of them in the discreet

Adorn your home and not my sidewalk

I tire of seeing germ filled items that cannot exercise social distancing

because the owner has them dearly departed

Can you not afford to pocket your mask

and put it in a Ziploc bag

you and others have not care to be bothered with a trash disposal task

that is definitely not word on the street

have some self respect you creep

That masking is

Inexcusable

flagrant

filthy

forgetfulness

and it's acceptable

and can be seen with yours

and mine spectacles.

Michelle Smith (c)2020

---

Hang it off your bloodied ear

Wrap it around your broken jaw

I know it's hard to breathe in,

especially with a knee on your neck.

Replace the filter once

the fibers no longer catch

your strangled cries for

Momma.

Don't let the crimson

droplets make contact,

let them soak the inside

of your face covering.

It doubles as a blindfold,

when the cadavers of

black youths become

too much to bear.

When torchlights flood the

street, devils in khakis march

in the night, use it to

hide your rage.*

When their eyes are watching

God, their warm blood pooling

on cold concrete, did it matter

if they wore their fucking masks?

Fuck COVID-19, America has

its own pandemic,

400 years strong.

Mauricio Moreno (c)2020

---