Here it is with a second stanza by Caroline Donnola, a third by Gail Peck, a fourth by Alice Rydel and a fifth by Nancy Hanks:

Be passive, be quiet 

Stay home.

Don’t talk to a neighbor;

Ride the elevator alone

Let’s defy this new custom
of averting our eyes
when passing each other
as if to disguise
that we are all hurting
and ache to empathize

Be creative and warm
It won’t cause any harm
Find a way to connect
That’s unusual and direct

Be aggressively kind

Go for walks and smile at others doing the same

Talk on the phone, on Zoom, by email, six feet away, by whatever

Go on your balconies, porches, open your windows

Clap, cheer, clang on pots with all your neighbors around the world

“”Always be aiming for people’s spontaneous, taken for granted, embodied, ‘natural’ ways of reacting and responding to their surroundings and to each other.” [paraphrase from John Shotter, Wittgenstein in Practice, Taos Institute, 2012]
We live in the democracy that we have now.
BE different. Lead differently.
And don’t forget to wash your hands and turn off the news!

Here it is with a second stanza by Caroline Donnola and a third by Gail Peck; and a fourth by Alice Rydel:

Be passive, be quiet 

Stay home.

Don’t talk to a neighbor;

Ride the elevator alone

Let’s defy this new custom
of averting our eyes
when passing each other
as if to disguise
that we are all hurting
and ache to empathize

Be creative and warm
It won’t cause any harm
Find a way to connect
That’s unusual and direct

Be aggressively kind

Go for walks and smile at others doing the same

Talk on the phone, on Zoom, by email, six feet away, by whatever

Go on your balconies, porches, open your windows

Clap, cheer, clang on pots with all your neighbors around the world

Here it is with a second stanza by Caroline Donnola and a third by Gail Peck; and a fourth by Alice Rydel:

Be passive, be quiet 

Stay home.

Don’t talk to a neighbor;

Ride the elevator alone

Let’s defy this new custom
of averting our eyes
when passing each other
as if to disguise
that we are all hurting
and ache to empathize

Be creative and warm
It won’t cause any harm
Find a way to connect
That’s unusual and direct

Be aggressively kind

Go for walks and smile at others doing the same

Talk on the phone, on Zoom, by email, six feet away, by whatever

Go on your balconies, porches, open your windows

Clap, cheer, clang on pots with all your neighbors around the world

we’re moving along.

Here it is with a second stanza by Caroline Donnola and a third by Gail Peck:

Be passive, be quiet 

Stay home.

Don’t talk to a neighbor;

Ride the elevator alone

Let’s defy this new custom
of averting our eyes
when passing each other
as if to disguise
that we are all hurting
and ache to empathize

Be creative and warm
It won’t cause any harm
Find a way to connect
That’s unusual and direct

we’re moving along.

Here it is with a new stanza by Caroline Donnola:

Be passive, be quiet 

Stay home.

Don’t talk to a neighbor;

Ride the elevator alone

Let’s defy this new custom
of averting our eyes
when passing each other
as if to disguise
that we are all hurting
and ache to empathize

I’m working on a new one.  It’s so important that we do more than wash our hands and avoid getting less than six feet away from other humans.  Please share your thoughts, experiences and feelings.  Poemsforfriends will post them.   Let’s write a poem together.

Here’s a start:

Be passive, be quiet 

Stay home.

Don’t talk to a neighbor;

Ride the elevator alone

 

Corona Corona. 

We cannot escape your touch.

Your visit to our world

Has upended so much

 

Corona Corona. 

Let us take a breath.

Give us some space

To escape your kiss of death.

 

After the flood

Came a rebirth.

Noah did what he should,

And God made it come out good.

 

What is our

affirmation of faith?

Not dogmatic nor blind;

A serious reckoning

that is honest and kind.

 

March 25, 2020

(by my friend Nancy Hanks)

I took a walk with my boss

He treated us to lunch

He quotes Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead

 

We talk of work and politics and

All the techno crap and

As we round the bend

He says —

My Resistance now is kindness.

 

I agreed.

 

(a sweet poem by my friend David Belmont)

i don’t
believe in
Truth Evil
or the Self

yet i’m
tired of being lied to
and have met
some evil dudes

but when you bring your
sweet self over here
I could believe in
almost anything

It’s fifty years later.

Some we looked to have moved away.

Yesterday’s revolutionary  

is a Democrat today.

 

Will the coronavirus 

Tear the fabric of civil society?

The odds say I will not be infected;

But surely I will be affected

 

We are so tied to the other. 

A bat in a Wuhan market

can make Wall Street shudder.

 

So, we anachronisms

Who rank kindness before success,

Who raise issues, ask hard questions,

Some say to excess.

 

Let’s ride the waves together

Hoping we land on our feet.

Let’s look for opportunities to grow.

New horizons to meet.

 

March, 2020