When we began this fractious quarantine,
I feared sequester might exceed three weeks.
I never dreamed how plague would intervene.

Our fate was like a busted trampoline –
we tolerated broken springs and squeaks
when we began this fractious quarantine.

Some fell and others stumbled, caught between
conspiring fears and factual techniques.
I never dreamed how plague would intervene.

Politicizing masks and spitting mean,
we didn’t know our fellows could be freaks,
when we began this fractious quarantine.

Some reasoned but so many were unclean,
ignoring soap because the soapbox speaks.
I never dreamed how plague would intervene.

It’s near a year, and still we all careen.
We’ve fallen and no longer see the peaks.
When we began this fractious quarantine,
I never dreamed how plague would intervene.

(Villanelle)