5 minute read
Prince and the Pandemic - Raziya Marks
PRINCE AND THE PANDEMIC Raziya Marks
Our story begins in a beautiful castle. With a King, a Queen, and a Prince. The castle sat in a plush village of colorful fruits, vegetables, trees, bushes, flowers, and wildlife! The Royal family were truly a beautiful trio. They were three different shades of stunning browns, their hair was thick with bounds of black strands streaming from their crowns and their smiles were radiant bolts of ivory. They were a happy family and enjoyed playing music and singing together. From the time Prince Hasani was born, music was used to celebrate births, weddings, graduations and served as a tool to bring families together and showcase individual talent throughout the kingdom! Music is a part of the rich land of Quansas and its people. Hasani was touched by the music fairy very early. Before he could walk, Prince Hasani loved to make noise and dance! He would stand and wiggle, stomp one foot, or shimmy before falling on his diapered bottom. He would bang pots and pans, tap pencils, strum curtains, pluck strings, whistle and attempt to sing. He always thought that he was making music but some people who were in ear’s distance of his musical performances would sometimes beg to differ. As he grew, he kept a song in his heart, and a beat in his step. One day, like so many before, Hasani was overtaken by a beat created by the wind blowing through an open window as it slapped against the castle wall. Following the beat, Hasani searched the room for a dance partner. Hasani, asked for the hand, hmmm… stem, hmmm... or branch of the nearest and largest plant he could find. A towering African Violet plant was whisked from the floor to join Hasani as he twirled and stepped to follow the rhythm of nature. The room changed to a ballroom. Hasani smiled widely, and a ray of pearls arose from his grin. The plant grew legs and the two were off! The dance ended in Hasani dipping the potted flower. As the dance ended, Queen Zola was entering the room. She strolled across the floor just in time to catch her lovely flower before it hit the ground! (I say she strolled, instead of ran. The Queen never ran. She was never too hasty in any matter.) The Prince awoke from his daydream as the Queen startled him! The Queen sat her son down and discussed with him the worries of his father. King Kama wondered how strong of a king Hasani would be one day amidst his love for music and dancing. The Queen urged Hasani to take his future responsibilities more seriously. Hasani listened and stopped dancing and singing and focused more on his training to prepare for battle. The Queen noticed that her son was not as happy anymore. She thought of ways to help her son be who he wants to be. And so, the plans were made to have a ball in Prince Hasani’s honor. She spread the word and put up flyers about the affair to be held at the castle. Queen Zola put up the last flyer and she began to walk back to the castle. A green covered hand grabbed and balled up the flyer. That hand belonged to Queen Rot. She was not an actual Queen but rather a low-budget leader of an underground wretched bunch of creatures called the “Slug people.” She did not want music to be heard again in the kingdom and she went to work to make a spell.
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“Toad’s fingers, Shark’s ears, search far and search near. Stir it slowly, add some fear. Salamander wings, and Cobra feet, a dab of mistrust makes the potion complete. Repeat after me. Smoky, smoky, smell the aroma, spread to the people, I call it Corona.” And just like that a sickness fell over the country of Quansas. The ball was cancelled! The villagers were ordered to stay in their homes unless they needed food or water. If someone needed to leave their home, they were given instructions to cover their faces with cloths to cover their sneezes and coughs. This dark time to seemed to last a long time. The people of Quansas began to lose hope and they felt alone and isolated from one another. The Prince came up with an idea to still have the ball but keep the distance of a broom between dancers and people talking to try to stop the sickness from spreading. But the broomstick trick did not seem to keep everyone from getting sick. The music and the vibrancy of Quansas was gone. Queen Rot loved this and her Slug People thrived on the feelings of hopelessness. Until… There was a family on the end of town that was planning to move to another village to flee from the sickness. This family had a daughter named Rye and she loved to play the violin. She wanted to play a song for the prince before she left. She stood outside of the castle and played her violin so beautifully that it woke the Prince from his stupor. As she played, life and hope and joy returned to Quansas. The song of her violin hurt the ears of the Slug People and they retreated to the forests. Queen Rot’s spell was lifted by the love that filled the heart of Prince Hasani and the kingdom once again! The moral of the story is that music can still connect us when we are going against something as dividing and devastating and detrimental as a global pandemic. “Play on, until there is no one left to listen.”
Here I am writing for a bit While in quarantine I sit
Ponder for hours to think of something funny instead sound like a dummy
What is meter, what is prose? We ain't got none of those.
What is tp what is class? I learn on Zoom and wipe my ass.
