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Writer's pictureEva Zhong

Ode to COVID

Updated: Feb 23, 2023

Dear Asian Youth,


I dedicate this poem to everyone staying strong through these trying times.


I crave people by the dozens

I thrive on conversation by the hours

I consume excitement by the gallons


you know these things were no luxury to me

they were a necessity


but I had my lifeline stolen away

a return policy with no end date


I was alone


a struggling patient unplugged from life support

a suffocating fish denied of water

a wilting flower dug up from the soil


I desperately searched for

connection

affection

selection

within this imperfection


I was terrified


who would've known we would be forced to find comfort

across a dimly illuminated iPhone screen?


but I found that comfort

miles and miles away

I found it in you

gently restoring my faith


we need to stay in touch

I said

and we will

you agreed


touch

that used to be a physical verb

touch

now an emotional connection


an agreement that distance could never come between us


from video calls about landscape triptychs

to matcha ice cream while singing chinese lyrics


to tears of grievance over our dying peers

to your hopeful attempts in calming my fears


to paragraphs of font 9 birthday texts on screens

to you and I exploring this crisis with dreams


your presence

revived me

energized me

you saved me


when again we finally meet

I will wrap my arms tight around you and whisper

thank you for always bearing with me


but we said distance could never come between us

didn't we?


- Eva


Editors: Sandhya G, Siyean P, Evie F, Sam L

Cover Photo Source: Science Friday




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