virus

Poem: Virus

~ John Loraine ~ 4 Comments

It’s in the air
It’s in the sky
It flies
Like the time flies.
It is here
And there
And it is every fucking where.

It’s on the surfaces of life
It’s on people’s breath
It’s in on the people’s mind
It’s fucking everywhere.

You cannot see it,
It has no smell
Or color,
There is no trace or
Texture or the end of it.
It comes and goes
And comes back again
Stronger than before.

It grows
It spreads
It is in our bodies
And our antibodies
Saying “Fuck it!”
It is part of our lives now,
It is behind our masks,
And it is up in the air,
It is just every fucking where
And we have to live with it.

I am a happy man

~ John Loraine ~ 11 Comments

I am a happy man. I know I am. Even when things don’t seem to work out to my best, I think I am a happy man. Things were rough lately, but the man isn’t always in control of everything. Things do go out of order occasionally. I stand and smile, looking at the ceiling with my tired eyes. I think this isn’t so bad. Things will get better soon. I know they will.

They say this virus is so bad; they say it is so dangerous and difficult to survive. It is out there and everywhere, and is contagious, and it kills. I am not the healthiest person, and I a vulnerable person; I am afraid of this stuff. I am never leaving my apartment. I am not going out anymore. I find my peace just sitting at home and get buried in my books. Oh, I have so many books! I love my books so much! I love my jazz collection, and I love my classical music collection, and I love to be alone. I love to be with myself and nobody else.

One time, as I opened my doors to take my trash out, and my neighbour walked out at the same time, so I ran back inside. I don’t want to talk to my neighbours. I never have before, and now, it is just too dangerous. I shall be safe and stay inside. I wore a long coat, scrubs over my shoes, a face mask, and the shield over my eyeglasses and the two sets of gloves. My eyeglasses got foggy in a minute, and I could barely see anything, but I have to protect myself. It is too dangerous out there. The virus kills.

I don’t have any friends, and I am not looking to meet any. Not in these crazy times. They say it is so dangerous to be amongst the people. People should stay apart and away from one another. I like that. I never wanted to be amongst other people; I never mixed with them. I have always been an outsider and a loner, and I liked it like that. I don’t need anybody else in my life. I need myself and my books and my jazz music collection. I remember how I always been frustrated with meetings and conversing with other people at the office. Oh, my God. I always wanted to escape and to avoid any contact with anybody. They always talk to me about their lives, their dogs and cats, and kids, and all their problems. How great it is that we all have to work from home and don’t talk or be around one another. I have nothing to talk about with anybody. I don’t want to. My life is quiet. I am different. I am a happy man when I’m alone.

 Continue reading →

Poem: Pandemic

~ John Loraine ~ 2 Comments


The times are changing  
Our lives are changing  
Our usual day-to-day is not  
What is has been anymore.   
The thoughts about what can go wrong,  
When life is so good, they are now in the past.  
Have changed to thoughts like  
How will we survive? How we can make sure  
Do we have enough of everything to carry on?  
The virus is spreading like the early Spring’s warm breeze  
And it is blooming at the same time  
The first flowers on the trees are blooming  
In the Spring. Death is blooming too.   
The virus is beautiful just like the blossom  
It has these little crowns,  
It is hard to resist, it is everywhere,  
It takes your breath away,  
It is impossible to stop.  
Simple things like enjoying the warm sunny days,  
Like enjoying the blossom blooming,  
Like breathing the air become deadly things,  
Dangerous, contagious. 

We are covering our mouths with masks  
We are covering our hands with gloves,  
We are covering our souls with greed  
We are covering our minds in darkness.  
The strong will survive,  
The smart will survive,  
The careful will survive,  
An idiot will spread it all over  
And give the virus a life, a chance.  
We all need a chance, we all need to live  
We only have one life, and there are no returns,  
No second chances.  
With are fridges filled-up, with our pantries filled-up,  
We sit in our homes, isolated,  
Away from each other,  
Hoping for the best future,  
Hoping it will go away soon.  
Will go to work, those who still have one,  
Will resume our vacation plans,   
Will re-invest our portfolios,  
Will see another day,  
But we all will be different people then.  

Maybe we’ll learn to appreciate the little things  
In life,  
Perhaps we’ll learn to share  
With one another,  
Perhaps we’ll learn to survive  
And to help,  
Perhaps we’ll learn to be mindful,  
And to be human again?

Pandemic reflection

~ John Loraine ~ 2 Comments

It is another month, another day or rather another evening as I am writing this and life goes on. I haven’t noticed how one month became another, and here we go, welcome all to March. It’s been a busy couple of months of this new year so far. Everything was happening too fast too much, and there was no way of stopping it until recently. Maybe that is why the time just flew by over my head without notice. Is it because I am getting old faster? Or is the world coming to an end? The older I become, the more I think about life, mortality, diseases, and what the future is holding for us. Nowadays, that the novel virus is in the air pretty much everywhere, everyone is wondering what the fuck is that going to be like?  

Just about two weeks ago it all was just another media story, another hype, just so foreign and so far, and away. Two weeks later, it became a disaster, and we don’t know how we are going to deal with it. I mean, we do know, but do we do enough to prevent the spread of this virus? Not really. There are still so many people ignoring all the warnings, and then we see a whopping seven hundred plus percent increase in coronavirus cases in the United States alone in just one week! That just tells me how many fucking ignorant idiots there are in this country and how fast they confirm their ignorance and carelessness. But also, it tells me more and more that things like this ‘new flu’ virus should not be ignored. Regardless of the media is overblowing it, if Trump says this or that, if nobody you actually know has it, or if you are on your Spring break, the danger is real. For all those who just don’t give a fuck, it might, and it will catch up with you and anybody else who is not behaving responsibly and who are not following the basic rules such as social distancing and washing the hands regularly. It is all up to us, you and me, not Trump, not Pence, not China, not your local douchebags representatives, who only get involved with you when they need your vote. It is up to us because it is about our lives, our families, our children, and our future.  

Continue reading →