Galasso, Joseph, A Struggling Mother

A Struggling Mother

Joseph Galasso

The sales submerged so I lose my pay, what will I do to support my young girl? The cloudy days are slow, time wastes away, The bills stack up high I fear I may hurl.

“Mommy, oh mommy, I’m hungry I’m sad.” Today’s the first day we’ll starve with no food. I’m waiting and waiting, where is your dad? He left us for good and ruined her mood.

Everything non-essential closes down. The pandemic starts to make people crazy. Now unemployment starts to sweep this town, nobody wants to work, they are so lazy.

Perk of working from home, no rules or masks just distractions unrelated to tasks.

I Wish in the Gym of Your Heart

—after Robley Wilson Caitlin Wells

I wish in the gym of your heart you would let me be the treadmill where you accelerate my heart rate. I imagine the workers: It has been tough, but the masks make it worse and people have to wipe down the machines.

Quar.an.tine: Deborah Young

Noun A state, period, or place of isolation in which people or animals that have arrived from elsewhere or been exposed to infectious disease are placed. “many animals die in quarantine” Origin Italian Quaranta Forty Italian Quarantine Forty days Quarantine Mid-17th century Definitions from Oxford Languages

QUARANTINE Beginning of pandemic sad and scared; not knowing what the future holds. Staying home, as not to catch this monster; isolation begins! Last day at school; and not comprehending yet. It stays on surfaces; it does not stay on surfaces. Wear a mask? Do not wear a mask. Stand six feet apart; but if you are vaccinated, three feet away. I cannot breathe; please wear a mask. Yay, they have a vaccine for this pandemic disease; however, way too soon. Government encourages the vaccine; I wonder why, for I think it is a tracking device. Get a vaccine; do not get a vaccine. Did you get symptoms; some get symptoms and feel like crap.

Many people are still staying quarantined mostly the elderly. Cannot see our relatives, mom, sister, or brother; all isolated and away from family members. Ships started the quarantines; quaranta meaning forty Quarantina meaning forty days, the amount of time people on ships would have to quarantine before allowed to come ashore.

Still staying in the house; only go out when important. At first you go stir crazy; then you get used to it.

If you get the monster disease; quarantined for fourteen days. So many people working from home; most companies are going to run with that.

It stays on surfaces; it does not stay on surfaces. Wear a mask; do not wear a mask.

Stand six feet apart; but if you are vaccinated, three feet away.

Staying home for ever and ever; isolation starts creeping up.

Bullet in the Brain —after Tobias Wolff Alexander Reardon

Anders rarely had good mornings, but today was especially worse. This added to his already existing temper, putting him in an even worse mood. He worked as a book critic and was known for his very meticulous reviews. He was never in the best of moods anyways, and this was reflected throughout his work at times. As Anders drove down the boulevard, he was paying more attention to his phone rather thandriving the car safely. While he was on his phone, the car in front of him stopped suddenly to avoid hitting the deer crossing the street. If Anders didn't look up when he did, he would have crashed into the back of the Chevy Malibu in front of him. Frustrated at having to stop so suddenly, Anders beeped his horn at the car in front of him, unaware that there was a deer crossing. As he arrived at the bank, he realized that he left his umbrella at home. He noticed that the parking lot was full, meaning thatthere was going to be a long line inside. Walking into the bank he was soaked. As he looked around, the majority of people seemed to be dry which meant they didn’t forget their umbrellas. There were so many people in the bank that the noise level was a lot louder than it usually was. Anders muttered under his breath that “this was the last time I will come to the bank on a Tuesday morning.” A couple places before him in line stood two girls who were talking very loudly. Loud talking was one of Anders' pet peeves, especially when it was about nonsense. These girls were speaking in a way that made them sound very uneducated. What bothered Anders even more was that they were the type of people who wore their masks below their nose. They disregarded the actual purpose for the mask, but they continued to go off about how wearing a mask was pointless. One of the girls removed her mask to take a drink from her sparkly pink Starbucks cup. He found the cup to be just as obnoxious as her. He seemed to always find something negative in everyone. The girl continued to leave her mask under her chin, even though she had finished taking a drink. The other girl continued to wear hers under her nose. Anders found himself glaring at the girls with a look of disapproval. It wasnot hard to notice him staring, and the girl on the left with the long brown hair couldn't help but notice. “Do you need something?” asked the girl. “To start you two can put your four total combined brain cells together and figure out how to put your masks over your nose.” She stood there, dumbfounded that someone had the audacity to talk to her like that. “Oh no! Better watch out for the virus, it's going to get me,” her friend chimed in so sarcastically. This fueled Anders’ temper even more, he responded by saying, “Wow, I can’t stand talking to people as stupid as you two.” Before the two ladies had a chance to respond, the doors of the bank burst open. The sound was so loud it made it seem like the doors were flying off the hinges. Two tall and buff men entered dressed in all black with ski masks covering their faces. They startedshouting for everyone to get on the ground or else they'll shoot. The two girls quickly dropped to the ground in front of Anders. They shook in fear as Anders remained standing unfazed by what was going on.

The bank robbers made it over to the tellers in front of Anders. “At least they can wear a mask properly,” Anders said to the women. “Did I tell you to talk?”

“Just be quiet,” said the woman, but Anders could not help himself. Anders felt the barrel of the shotgun in his lower back.“Ski masks, kind of cliche don't you think?” said Anders.

Forgiveness Isaiah Wilson

Your knee on my neck shows no life respect. Did you already know my life would end? You held it down without any regret. Breathless to the air, I can’t breathe within. The clock is ticking with no time to reset. The crowd screams and shouts while watching the sin. The color of my skin poses a threat. Hand cuffed and pinned to the ground I can’t win. The cry for momma was my last duet. I need to know where did this all begin Where you taught to be angry and upset. You must not have known my soul lives herein. My life will forever be left in your debt. But luckily for you God will descend.

Chickenpox Vaccine

Jiangshan Yuan

I still remember the day I suffered I was distracted by the sugar Mother brought me to the doctor acted like I was not her daughter Father went to pay for the dollar Nurse she was a beautiful hugger told me chicken pox was a horror She encouraged me to be a warrior Vaccine was ready Varicella was waiting Now Now I have a marker

Essential Worker Erin O’Brien

When somebody hears the phrase “essential worker,” what comes to mind? The real definition of an essential worker is “individuals who conduct a range of operations and services that are typically essential to continue critical infrastructure operations” (according to the U.S Department of Homeland Security). This definition does not give a true read on what an essential worker really is (especially in hard times during this pandemic). I’m confident many people agree with me when I say there are different degrees of jobs that fall under the umbrella that is labeled “essential workers.” To be more specific, there are two degrees. The higher degree of essential workers includes the jobs that our world simply cannot succeed without. Some examples would be fields such as the police force, firefighters, and healthcare workers. If you’re wondering why these are included ask yourself this; what happens if there are fires? How will sick/ injured people be treated (especially with COVID-19 being in play). How will crime be controlled? During this entire pandemic, my dad has fallen under the category ofessential worker. As a police officer, he is required to go to work during any circumstance, he works on holidays such as Thanksgiving and even Christmas. This is because crime does not have days off no matter what goes on and this includes circumstances like the pandemic. This has been a privilege that my dad is an essential worker because many people were laid off during the pandemic and struggled financially. I am fortunate that my dad continued to work and put food on the table every day for me. Looking at the other side of essential workers, these are the fields that people would consider to be jobs that our world will be just fine if these people were not working. I say the following respectfully and I am not trying to belittle any of these jobs. I understand and acknowledge that it is good for these people who can still work for a paycheck and support themselves/ families, but I am confused as to why they are still labeled essential workers and go into work every day. A few examples of these jobs would be jobs such as fast-food restaurants, landscapers, and fitness centers. I am puzzled as to why these three fields are able to go to work every day in such dangerous times. I love my fast food, but I know I can live without it, and I think it is unsafe for those employees to be serving customers day to day and potentially exposing themselves. As for landscapers, my brother works as a landscaper and he loves doing it. If we’re being honest, do we really need our lawns and bushes to be trimmed neatly when COVID-19 is a threat to thousands of people? I love working out as much as the next person. In fact, it is very beneficial for our health to be working out at gyms. The problem is, I find it tough to argue that gyms can be labeled as essential when sweating on different types of equipment is a breeding ground for the coronavirus. For those reasons, that is why these jobs are some that fall into this degree of an essential worker. I truly hope that families are able to overcome financial struggles during these times of uncertainty. Unfortunately, there needs to be a fine line drawn for what jobs we really need and what jobs we can put on hold in order for our country to be the safest it can be. When we talk about essential workers, looking through it from the big picture shows that

there really are two different levels of the umbrella term “essential workers.” What do you think of when you hear the words essential worker?