Coronasonnet 1 - A Gathering of 20 People
it seems this was the meal to end all meals
this premium-catered baby shower buffet.
hooray, the moon completes a prayer wheel,
extended kin circle a saturday.
tuesday we got the message from the relative.
sorry, i’m positive. coughing, i hauled
a right into a clinic with an expletive.
five hours later, the contact-tracers called.
BY THEN THE CLAN WAS LOCKED-DOWN, STOCKED WITH RICE
I, HOPSCOTCHED THROUGH A COURSE OF BLACK-TAPED CROSSES,
SURROUNDED BY A SYMPHONY OF COUGHERS,
BOMBARDED BY DIAGNOSTIC WHATSAPP OFFERS
FROM THE FAMILY, YOU KNOW, WITH 2 REAL DOCTORS
THOUGH NO ONE HEEDS THE MEDICAL ADVICE
Coronasonnet 2 - THE MORE THEY ASK THE MORE I WANT TO COUGH
though no one heeds the medical advice
until they’re in the ambulance, doctors still
attempt prevention, when curing should suffice.
it's common sense no one ever gets ill
until they talk to doctors, so you oughtn’t.
if asked, keep superficial, beauty-deep.
don’t let them wheedle, needle to the bottom
of things, query your inner qi, and seep
INTO YOUR BLOOD. THEY'LL SIC YOU FROM THE SEAMS
TO THE STOMACH. LEFT UNSTOPPED, THEY'LL TUNE
AND PLAY YOU LIKE AN ORGAN. THEN THEY'LL SCREAM
MARROW! MARROW! AND RUSH OUT OF THE ROOM
THESE FEELS YOU NEVER KNEW YOU'D EVER FEELS
UNTIL THE Q&A ROUTINE REVEALS
Coronasonnet 3: WHERE WERE YOU THE WEEKEND OF BUYSINGLIT, THE MOH CONTACT-TRACER ASKS
until the Q&A routine reveals
your grand calendar pan-island express,
"wei, why you must go here go there and spews
your saliva errwhere?" shamed, you confess
you thought you were an introvert. you were
an intro vector. eventful weekend veered
from avenue to venue, viral ulcer
spluttering-saliva spoken weird
OVER THE BACK OF BOOKS (BACTERIA!) ACTUALLY,
LITERALLY KILLING OFF THE LITERARY AUDIENCE,
THE CONTACT-TRACER SCRIBBLES, FACTUALLY,
“EXTINCTION HORIZON BUYSINGLITAPOREANS"
YOU WISH YOU’D BAILED, HAILED A CAB, AND IMPROVISED
A DRIVE THE DRIVER DOESN’T RECOGNISE
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Joshua Ip is an award-winning poet, editor and literary organizer. He has written four collections of poetry, edited six anthologies for Math Paper Press, and is working on a graphic novel. He runs Sing Lit Station, a literary nonprofit that runs community initiatives like SingPoWriMo, Manuscript Bootcamp and poetry.sg. The Coronasonnets were originally posted on the SingPoWriMo Facebook page. Joshua has kindly given us permission to share them here. www.joshuaip.com