The Long Haul Begins

Pandemic effects

lingering intractably

reframe normalcy

Once contagion stays,

resilience frays at last.

The long haul begins.

Self-doubt will persist,

fostered by this epic plague’s

ominous death toll.

What strength can be mined?

Will one’s foundational truths

aid forward movement?

As firm counterweight,

honest doubt hovers throughout

existential angst.

How best to resist?

Premature surrender tempts

even the strong-willed.

At a Crossroads?

Job and structure loss,

worsened by vast disruptions

frays stability.

Stripped of jobs and means,

workers crave restoration

of earning power.

To survive and grow.

firms strive for financial strength,

light-touch oversight.

Product shortages

disrupt supplies and pricing,

needing correction.

Essential worker

income inequality 

tests priorities.

Poverty's role in

survival disparities

challenges fairness.

Still stunned consumers

staggering from brutal loss,

refrain from spending.

Healthcare providers

seared by unrelenting stress

step back to restore.

The economy,

missing strong participants,

fails to reopen.

Civic leaders caught

by a partisan divide

strain at consensus.

Stressed social contract

invites appraisal to gain

a broad renewal.

Unfolding events

mired in deep uncertainty,

straddle fear and hope.