Pardon me, but I just had to ask,
Why is it that you’re not wearing a mask?
Would you knowingly harm
A neighbor or friend?
Or a stranger
Whom you’ll never see again?
Or a mother-to-be,
How about her?
Do you want to risk being
A bad messenger?
Do you think you’re immune
Because you are young,
Accomplished, educated,
Zen calm, or high strung?
Do you think that being
Socially connected
Can keep you protected
From being infected?!
Has life dealt you “hard knocks”?
Think you’re done paying dues?
Or that COVID-19
Is just more “fake news”?
Perhaps you posit
As an aristocrat,
Your safety is pat –
Good luck with that!
Can’t deprive the world
Of your fine symmetry?
Concern for your fellow
Is the new dernier cri!
Many people are gone,
Some more worthy than us.
So please stop your fuss,
And get on the bus!
We’re vulnerable now,
Can’t take things for granted.
Mustn’t act laissez faire,
Though some rules seem high-handed.
For the first time in history,
We lost synagogue prayer.
Please don’t give Hashem
Cause to take us back there.
So, please wear a mask,
Don’t be cavalier.
Help us merit to see better times
Than we’ve seen this past year.
We must pull together,
We once used to know how.
Then perhaps Hashem’s mercy
Will shine on us now.
By Sharon Marcus