COVID-19 Generation (reverse poem)
By Dr. Ronald Goldenberg
All of us in society have a mix of emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic, and I have tried to capture this in a reverse poem about COVID-19 that I wrote on the morning of March 21, 2020, as the pandemic continues to escalate. This is adapted from a famous reverse poem entitled “The Lost Generation.”
Listen and read along as Dr. Goldenberg recites his poem on YouTube, or read the text below.
COVID-19 Generation
I am part of the COVID-19 generation
just because I am an adult over age 60
And I cannot believe that
my future is bright
This may be a shock but I know that
“I’ll live a long and healthy life”
is a lie, and
“My future is bleak”
In the next few days, I expect to tell my family that
it’s not a death sentence
but
I am in a high-risk group for COVID-19
and practicing social distancing will take priority over spending time
with my family
Well, I’ll tell you this:
Grandparents would play often with their grandchildren
and
We looked forward to a life without COVID 19
Once upon a time
This will not be true in my era
Our society has stopped thinking of others
I do not accept that
I have a future without COVID-19
and
I will have a good quality of life
I believe that
I’ll suffer fever, cough and shortness of breath
and
that my life will be dictated by fear of COVID-19
No longer can it be said
that we can prevent coronavirus transmission
It is evident
that preventing COVID-19 is not advancing rapidly
and it is foolish to presume
there is hope
And all of this will come true unless we
choose to reverse it
—REVERSE—
there is hope
and it is foolish to presume
that preventing COVID-19 is not advancing rapidly
It is evident
that we can prevent coronavirus transmission
No longer can it be said
that my life will be dictated by fear of COVID-19
and
I’ll suffer fever, cough and shortness of breath
I believe that
I will have a good quality of life
and
I have a future without COVID-19
I do not accept that
Our society has stopped thinking of others
This will not be true in my era
Once upon a time
We looked forward to a life without COVID-19
and
Grandparents would play often with their grandchildren
Well, I’ll tell you this:
I am in a high-risk group for COVID-19
and practicing social distancing will take priority over spending time
with my family
but
it’s not a death sentence
In the next few days, I expect to tell my family that
“My future is bleak”
is a lie and
“I’ll live a long and healthy life”
This may be a shock but I know that
my future is bright
And I cannot believe that
just because I am an adult over age 60
I am part of the COVID-19 generation
Ronald Goldenberg, MD, FRCPC, is a consultant endocrinologist affiliated with LMC Diabetes & Endocrinology in Vaughan, Ont.
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Jamal Uddin | November 11, 2020
