The Fears by Kevin Prufer

Author:Kevin Prufer [Prufer, Kevin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Copper Canyon Press

In This Way

There probably was a Trojan War,

a skirmish between small

rival towns,

but we receive

only its echoes

in literature. Facts about the battle

are obscure,

endlessly transformed

by the Greek tragedians.

In this way,

the war lives

deep in history,

seemingly overwhelmed

by stories.

In this way

+

a virus hides in an urban

population,

replicating itself before

breaking through.

At first we’re told we should avoid

crowds, we should wash

our hands. In this way

+

the virus is an ancient story

changing itself all the time

to suit its environment,

it is a dynamic story

evolving to suit the genetic

complexities of its audience.

In this way,

the Trojan War

+

lives deep in the cells of Greek literature,

and is also

transformative,

so now

we are closing our schools,

we are shutting down

the theater district.

In this way, crowds and transmission—

the problem

with the metaphor implicit in this poem

+

is that the germ

of the Trojan War

helped the Greeks understand themselves,

and has helped me understand them,

no matter

that the battle itself remains forever

of small

+

historical importance.

A virus in the population

among, let’s face it,

people I love

emerges to a vastly different result.

In this way, the germ of memory is not an actual

germ.

In this way, the nurses

who might, for instance, tend to you

will adjust their masks

before they enter

your room.

How are we doing today?

they’ll ask, though they know

you might be dying.

+

Doing the best we can, I’m thinking,

here in the past,

looking out my window

onto the dark street.

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