The Casualties Of Covid-19 Poem by Festus Okwekwe

The casualties are not only those who are dead;
Their anguish has come to an end
Though they await burial by whatever means.
The casualties are not only those who got infected
Young or old, disheartening as it may be;
Isolated, longing for a hold that cannot be held.
The casualties are not only those quarantined
For being with those who tested positive.
The centres may be punitive, but for those days a home.
No end as cold as bereavement.
The casualties are not only those who knowingly
Or unknowingly uncorked the pestilence
And now cannot stop the havoc from spreading.
Millions are ravaged that knew nothing of the game.
The casualties are not only those who had to flee
From places where they had been engaged
Or those trapped with the loops of lockdown.
The fretful become fugitives in the ambit of broken fences.
The casualties are many, too many not to say all.
Outside the isolation centres and treatment wards,
They are the cash donors and food distributors
Giving to authorities and vulnerable persons.
They may not see the heaps of bodies on the grounds.
They are the task force officials, travelling everywhere
On rescue missions, blaring the sirens of human ears,
Preaching social distancing and precautionary measures
With various media to draw the attention of starved bellies
Into a tune they are not willing to dance to.
They are the presidents who have to stay awake,
Addressing the nations and do all it takes
To saves the lives under their watch.
They are those of us who lost our jobs,
Got our salaries suspended or pay cut.
They are the roadside sellers who cannot sell
And every enterprise put to hold.
The casualties are many, and a good number as well;
The calls overwhelm responses.
Deafened in the jar of claims and counter claims
And confused with propositions going back and forth
When not in the light of eventualities
We fall,
All casualties of the pandemic.
Because we cannot buy each other's views,
Because hands have been detached from mouth
Because whether we see or
Do not the damages on every sector
We are players now other than before
The pandemic began, the stay-at-home restriction
By hoarding palliatives, the opportunists in power
Fearful for the vengeance of the gods and people,
We are all casualties
All moaning as are
The cases spoken of starvation,
The unpremeditated benefiters of not just our pandemic.


An adaptation of J. P Clark's The Casualties