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Blessed
by Patrick T. Reardon

Blessed are the dead and the dying.
Blessed, the mourn-filled good-byes
to loves behind glass, behind walls.

Blessed the neighborhoods of pain,
grief communities, lightning-struck homes,
annunciations of the Angel of Death.

Blessed are the respiratory technicians,
nurses, doctors, lab pathologists.
Blessed, the women and men who clean hospital floors.

Blessed are the unhealthy, the aimless,
lost souls, lone hearts, stunted, scarred,
the poor, rich in afflictions.

Blessed, those ascending stairs, entering vestibules,
with groceries, with medicines,
long days, dangerous.

Blessed are those who protect, those who care.
Blessed, those who drive the buses,
masked and vulnerable.

Blessed are those who stay home to save lives,
who can stay home, selfish in their selflessness,
wanting to live, not wanting others to die.

Blessed, the children who know how to adapt.
Blessed, the babies, innocent of the fear
of the invisible invader.

Blessed, the makers of hard decisions.
Blessed, the disease detectives.
Blessed, the inspirers, the hope-sters, the up-lifters.

Blessed are those who bloom in the whirlwind,
who are brave before mysteries,
who embrace living.

Blessed are the dead and the dying,
the courageous and the hand-holders.
Blessed, us, one and all.

Photo by kazuend on Unsplash

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: “Blessed” was originally published in Third Coast Review in April 2020, when the pandemic was still somewhat new.  The poem was an attempt to encompass a great amount, particularly the inequality of death that has resulted. Alas, the sadness and fear of those early days, and the inequality, are still with us.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Patrick T. Reardon, who has been nominated three times for a Pushcart Prize, is the author of nine books, including the poetry collection Requiem for David  and the history The Loop: The “L” Tracks That Shaped and Saved Chicago. His poetry has appeared in Burningwood Literary Journal, Esthetic Apostle, Ground Fresh Thursday, Literary Orphans, Rhino, Spank the Carp, Main Street Rag, The Write Launch, Meat for Tea, Silver Birch Press, UCity Review, and Under a Warm Green Linden. His memoir in prose poems Puddin: The Autobiography of a Baby is to be published in 2021 by Third World Press.