March 2020 SOLC–Day 13
A huge thank you to Two Writing Teachers for all that they do to create an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write, learn, share and grow.
http://www.twowritingteachers.org
This post is serving double duty for the SOLC and this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup.
I woke this morning with Macbeth’s “Song of the Witches” in my mind. It seemed to lend itself to a contemplation of our current chaotic and unsettling situation.
Double, double toil and trouble;
media buzz, infection bubble.
Virus of ferocious speed
spawns illness, anxiety–
plunging markets, travel woes,
lights out on all Broadway shows,
social distance, closing schools
quarantines, stockpiling fools.
For lasting harm and lingering trouble,
add inept leader, boil and bubble.
Double, double toil and trouble;
media buzz, infection bubble.
©Molly Hogan, 2020, draft
This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Matt Forrest Esenwine at his blog, Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme. He’s sharing all sorts of happy poetry news. If you need some respite from the world around you, check out his post and maybe click on a few links. Poetry helps.
Nix the comfort zone 
Wow- that really speaks volumes. I´m looking forward to when we can look back on all this. I find lines from texts coming to me at unusual times. Great that you thought to take this and run with it. Wonderful diction in your poem.
LikeLike
Thanks! Writing this was a welcome distraction.
LikeLike
Love this! Shakespeare would most definitely approve.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks!
LikeLike
Molly, great poem! Thank you for giving me a smile! Hopefully, it gave you a smile too and made you feel better by expressing yourself.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Writing it was a nice distraction 🙂
LikeLike
Nice! Hopefully all that boiling will kill he virus. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fingers crossed!
LikeLike
[…] COVID-19 sparks a Macbeth-inspired poem for Molly Hogan at Nix the Comfort Zone. […]
LikeLike
You know, I nearly used “Song of the Witches” in my own post today. Had I actually been able to write in the morning, I probably would have! I think Shakespeare, who loved a good leader critique, would have enjoyed this part: “For lasting harm and lingering trouble,
add inept leader, boil and bubble.” SIGH.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Now that is odd! I wonder why we both were thinking about it. Don’t I wish that “inept leader” wasn’t accurate!
LikeLike
Yes, Molly, you’ve captured these recent days very well indeed. Forsooth, I smell a rat! Love the visions you’ve created!
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Forsooth, I smell a rat!” ha!
LikeLike
Macbeth is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. I’m always up for a little Song of the Witches! I’m impressed that you were able to turn it into a fitting song of the moment.
Have you seen this? It’s fascinating (and also made me laugh): https://twitter.com/AdrianEdmondson/status/1238575945717604354
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, Tabatha. That’s crazy! I enjoyed looking through all the crazy causes and shared a bunch with my husband.
LikeLike
Loved this poem so much I had to tweet it out! My favorite lines are these: “social distance, closing schools
quarantines, stockpiling fools.”
Simply expert!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so glad you enjoyed it and thanks for sharing it!
LikeLike
P-E-R-F-E-C-T! I love it. It made me laugh in a wry way…pulling me closer to out of my funk. Thanks, Molly
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’ll be funk-free in no time! Hang in there!
LikeLike
Again, you are a poet for our times. Please send this to the Maine Sunday Telegram. You’ve got seven hours!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Dan–I missed the deadline though. 🙂
LikeLike
Next week’s PPH!
LikeLike
Terrific Molly, your poem may even stir up some woebegone-witch or too–and I wish it would scare away the “add inept leader, boil and bubble.” Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A pox on him!
LikeLike
Molly, what a wonderful take-off of Shakespeare’s famous poem. I agree with Amanda. Your lines: “For lasting harm and lingering trouble,
add inept leader, boil and bubble,” is the perfect ingredient.
LikeLiked by 1 person
How I wish that ingredient weren’t a part of the mix. Take care, Carol!
LikeLike
You captured my mood during this time perfectly. I know the virus needs to be taken seriously, but it still feels like we are blowing it way out of proportion and creating lots of other problems, e.g. stock market, groceries, etc., that will be a lot longer than those created by the virus.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We are living in historic times and they definitely aren’t comfortable ones. We’ll probably show our best and our worst sides.
LikeLike
Great job! Shakespeare knew about quarantines! I was reading yesterday that he wrote King Lear while in quarantine for the plague! Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a fascinating historical/literary tidbit. Thanks for sharing!
LikeLike
Spot on! If Shakespeare was alive today, this is probably similar to what he might come up with. Did you see the post I shared on FB yesterday? 20 seconds of Shakespeare to recite while you wash your hands. I bet your poem would work just as well. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I didn’t see that, Michelle. I’ll have to go check it out.
LikeLike
Great poem!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Margaret!
LikeLike