DON’T LISTEN TO THEM

They are telling us to stay positive, comrade

To not pay attention to the virus, to think happy thoughts, to not spread negativity and fear

Don’t listen to them, comrade, don’t listen to them

For staying positive is the worst insult you can visit upon the dead and the suffering

For staying positive is the worst form of escapism

Those asking you to stay positive, want you to think only of yourself, they don’t want you to feel comrade

We have to feel now, comrade, feel deeply, feel till our very souls combust

So whatever you do, comrade, don’t listen to Them

Instead….

Sob, comrade, sob

Sob for the departed, comrade, sob for the sufferers, sob for their horror, sob for their terror

Sob till your heart breaks into a million pieces, comrade

Then gather those pieces and sob for your broken heart

Seek out the wail of the ambulance, comrade, was this the 10^th or 12^th time in the last one hour?

And wail in solidarity, bawl like a toddler, thinking of the life that could very possibly be extinguished

Could it be a 30 year old with two infants, or a 50 year old who is the sole breadwinner?

Or possibly a 20 year old whose life has not even begun or perhaps a 80 year old grandmother?

None of them needed to die, comrade, not this way, so sob knowing that

Sob for every life lost, comrade, like you have a lost a loved one , Sob till you have no tears left and then sob some more

But whatever you do comrade, don’t listen to Them

Rage, comrade, rage

Rage, knowing that your rulers are murderers, Rage, knowing that you are living in a failed state

Rage at the senselessness of it all and Rage further at insensitivity wherever you see it

Rage at those for whom deaths are statistics, rage at those 1 percenters

Rage at excuses, comrade, and rage at the emperor who is building a new palace for himself

Rage at yourself, comrade, knowing that your rage is not nearly enough

But whatever you do comrade, don’t listen to Them

Be ashamed, comrade, be ashamed

Know your privilege, comrade, and be ashamed of it. Think of the problems you obsess over and be ashamed

Know that your problems can never match up to those of the suffering, and be ashamed

Be ashamed comrade, for did we not cause this, you and me?

We asked for temples comrade and we got them, but, comrade, where is our God now?

Is he not happy yet, comrade, how many more temples does it take to bribe him?

Be ashamed comrade for our silence and be ashamed for not asking the right questions

We are helpless now, comrade , but we  were not always helpless. So be ashamed of that.

But whatever you do comrade, don’t listen to Them

Be kind, comrade, be unfailingly kind

Be kind, knowing that that is the least we can do. Be kind, knowing that everyone is waging a hard battle

Be kind, knowing that, we are on our own and all we have is each other.

For, make no mistake, comrade , the Gods have forsaken this land ages ago and have left no one in their stead , so be kind

But whatever you do comrade, don’t listen to Them

Love, comrade, love

Love with all your being, love with all your generosity, love with passion,

Hold your loved ones close, comrade, protect them .Love them like you are going to lose them tomorrow

Love enough so that you are able to forgive, but comrade, forgive discriminatingly and forgive but never forget

Forgive the man, but never the deed, may be even the deed, but not the creed

Love, comrade, love freely but make sure not to squander it.

But whatever you do comrade, don’t listen to Them

Cheer, comrade, cheer

Cheer for the tireless front liners, cheer for the medicine men and women, cheer for the volunteers

Cheer for the acts of kindness, cheer for the utter selflessness, and cheer for their existence comrade

Cheer and tell yourself comrade, “There but for the grace of the volunteers, go we”

Did I say earlier comrade that the gods have left no one in their stead? I stand corrected, we have the volunteers, comrade, we have the volunteers

But whatever you do comrade, don’t listen to Them

Think, comrade, think. Think, learn and know

Morbidly seek out knowledge of suffering comrade, every death, and every desperate gasp for breath

Learn about this till your brain screams for you to stop, till your heart threatens to break, till your very soul shivers, and then learn some more

For that is our penance, comrade, make no mistake .The penance of the fortunate, of the privileged

Think, comrade, think.

 Comrade, those asking you to think happy thoughts, those asking you to stay positive, don’t want you to think . They don’t want you to feel. They don’t want you to know

And comrade, we need to know, we need to think, we need to feel

We need to feel till our souls combust, we need to think till our brains explode

Let us self-immolate , comrade ,let us burn with the constant refrain , “Never Again” , “Never Again” , “Never Again”

And from this crucible of ashes and debris, something new will emerge, something better

Let us be Phoenixes together, comrade

For, comrade, if this doesn’t change us, then nothing else will

And if we don’t change now comrade, I am sorry to say, we might as well have not lived.

So, comrade, I beseech you, don’t listen to Them