Plague Poems
@plaguepoems.bsky.social
📤 7228
📥 21
📝 2965
A record of the plague years. Z”L.
https://librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/plague-poems/
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I have heard it said that given the choice between getting sick more often and wearing a mask, most people choose the former and so, my friend, I sincerely hope that you are not most people. * The 321st week of plague poems…
librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2026/05/08/p...
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Plague Poems – The Three-Hundred-and-Twenty-First Week
I asked the professor how her semester was wrapping up and she replied: “it feels like it’s been a really long semester,” and after a moment she added: “it feels like itR…
https://librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2026/05/08/plague-poems-the-three-hundred-and-twenty-first-week/
7 days ago
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47
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At the beginning of the current pandemic there was a moment (a very brief moment) when we were encouraged to make sacrifices for each other, but I worry in the case of another pandemic we will just jump directly to being encouraged to make sacrifices out of each other.
about 1 hour ago
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23
4
Will an asteroid destroy the world on Monday? No, an asteroid will not destroy the world on Monday. For that asteroid will pass 56,000 miles from the world. On Monday what will destroy the world (on Monday what will keep destroying the world) is our indifference.
about 19 hours ago
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38
7
Apparently France has confined more than 1,700 people to their cruise ship after a suspected outbreak of norovirus onboard, and while it is very important to understand that a norovirus outbreak is not a hantavirus outbreak, you still might as well avoid cruise ships.
about 22 hours ago
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I know you already have more than enough reasons to wear a mask but in a new BMJ article several scientists argue: “WHO should say plainly that ANDV should be managed as a pathogen with plausible airborne transmission,” so now you have yet another reason to wear a mask.
about 23 hours ago
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As I look around it saddens me to realize how much faith I have lost in experts And as I look around it saddens me to realize how much faith I have lost in institutions But as I look around what saddens me the most is realizing how much faith I have lost in other people.
1 day ago
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120
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I have heard it said that a pandemic doesn’t end (doesn’t really end) until the next pandemic begins, and as I sit here reading about what would happen if the hantavirus outbreak turns into a pandemic, I find myself hoping that the Covid pandemic is not about to end.
2 days ago
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36
11
I know that many of us are concerned about the hantavirus outbreak that began on that ship, but considering how we have no surgeon general, no confirmed CDC director, and no FDA commissioner, all of us should probably be more concerned that nobody is steering this ship.
2 days ago
2
58
13
As you see the news about the hantavirus outbreak it is vital to remember that the “mysterious” virus, that the strange “something,” everyone you know keeps contracting is not the hantavirus but the coronavirus.
2 days ago
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36
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When they tell you that in a few months you’ll feel foolish for being so concerned about the hantavirus outbreak, calmly but firmly tell them, that you hope they are right calmly but firmly tell them, that you really hope they’re right.
2 days ago
1
34
6
I asked, my friend, the epidemiologist and she told me it is ridiculous to act like this outbreak is the end of the world. And I asked, my friend, the historian and she told me it is ridiculous to act like the world as you know it is a stable place.
3 days ago
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62
17
When I read the articles about the hantavirus I think to myself: “if this gets bad, we’re in big trouble.” And when I read the comments on those articles about the hantavirus I think to myself: “if this gets bad, we’re in really big trouble.”
3 days ago
1
38
10
Its important not to feel too anxious, but considering: “A French woman who tested positive for hantavirus after she was evacuated from a cruise ship reported symptoms to doctors onboard but was told it was probably just anxiety,” it’s hard not to feel a little anxious.
3 days ago
0
56
19
With all of this talk about the possibility of the next pandemic it is essential that you not forget about the persistence of the current pandemic.
3 days ago
2
86
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Apparently one of the passengers from the hantavirus ship (who is returning to the US) “tested mildly PCR positive for the Andes virus,” so if you are wondering what it means to have “tested mildly PCR positive”? Just know it means that they have tested positive.
4 days ago
1
83
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When you hear that (according to the HHS) “At least one American who was a passenger aboard the MV Hondius has tested positive for hantavirus, and another has shown mild symptoms,“ be thankful, yes, just be thankful, be thankful that they are bothering to test at all.
4 days ago
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59
12
I sent my aunt, the doctor, a clip of the secretary of health and human services noting (in regards to Hantavirus): “We have this under control, and we’re not worried,” and in response my aunt, the doctor, said: “Oh, yeah, we’re fucked.”
4 days ago
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70
13
When you hear them say (and you will) what frightens them the most about a hantavirus pandemic is that it would mean the return of lockdowns, calmly but firmly reply what should frighten them the most about a hantavirus pandemic is that it would mean millions of deaths.
4 days ago
1
65
16
If they ask you: how will we get through a hantavirus pandemic? Tell them: we’ll do it the same way we got through the coronavirus pandemic, by taking care of each other. And when they say: but we have not yet gotten through the coronavirus pandemic. Tell them: exactly.
7 days ago
1
79
21
My aunt, the doctor, told me a new joke. She asked: Why doesn’t anyone need to worry about hantavirus spreading? I said I did not know. And so she answered. Because with the cost of gas no one can afford to go out and spread it. And then neither of us laughed.
7 days ago
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52
11
I have heard it said that given the choice between getting sick more often and wearing a mask, most people choose the former and so, my friend, I sincerely hope that you are not most people. * The 321st week of plague poems…
librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2026/05/08/p...
loading . . .
Plague Poems – The Three-Hundred-and-Twenty-First Week
I asked the professor how her semester was wrapping up and she replied: “it feels like it’s been a really long semester,” and after a moment she added: “it feels like itR…
https://librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2026/05/08/plague-poems-the-three-hundred-and-twenty-first-week/
7 days ago
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47
9
When I asked, my friend, the historian of medicine for her thoughts on a potential hantavirus pandemic she thought for a moment and then replied: you know it's not every president who gets the chance to catastrophically fuck up two pandemics.
7 days ago
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266
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Are people anxious because of what they do not know about the hantavirus outbreak? Yes, people are anxious because of what they do not know about the hantavirus outbreak. But people are anxious because what they know is we are not ready for another pandemic to break out.
7 days ago
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42
10
When you hear them say that they are not worried about the possibility of a hantavirus pandemic for they survived the coronavirus pandemic so they are sure they can survive another pandemic, calmly but firmly remind them: they have not yet survived the coronavirus pandemic.
8 days ago
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96
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If all the news about the hantavirus outbreak has you searching for something you can do: wear a mask; and if this passes and it turns out you don’t need it to protect yourself from a hantavirus pandemic, it will still protect you from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
8 days ago
4
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My brother in law sent me an article about the hantavirus outbreak along with the message “this is bullshit,” and as I wanted him to have the facts I gently informed him that in actuality hantavirus has much more to do with rat shit.
8 days ago
1
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An open note to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (but in this moment particularly to pestilence and war): it’s not a race.
8 days ago
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45
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Listen: you must be mindful of the key difference between this moment and the start of the Covid pandemic, the key difference between this moment and the start of the Covid pandemic is that at the start of the Covid pandemic nobody was saying “I can’t do this again.”
9 days ago
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66
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I have been assured that considering how deadly hantavirus is it is really quite unlikely that this outbreak will turn into a pandemic, and while I know that this information is meant to be reassuring, I must confess to not feeling reassured.
9 days ago
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If you listen you will hear the experts confidently stating it is unlikely this hantavirus outbreak will turn into a pandemic. And if you listened in 2019 you heard the experts confidently stating that it was unlikely the coronavirus outbreak would turn into a pandemic.
9 days ago
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As you see the news about the dangerous virus that can spread from human to human and which can result in illness and death, it is worth remembering that Covid remains a dangerous virus that can spread from human to human and which can result in illness and death.
9 days ago
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84
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When you hear them talk (and you will hear them talk) about the hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship, calmly but firmly remind them, that all of us are on the same ship, and when they reply that we aren’t all on that cruise ship, tell them we are tell them we really are.
10 days ago
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67
20
When you hear the news about the hantavirus outbreak you must remember: that since 2020 we’ve had time we’ve had plenty of time to get ready for another pandemic, so we are ready oh, yes we are very ready, we are ready to pretend this isn’t happening.
10 days ago
1
85
22
I keep seeing headlines about what various celebrities wore to their fancy gala, which I suppose means we’re about a week away from seeing headlines wondering about the strange “something” so many celebrities have come down with after attending that fancy gala.
10 days ago
1
59
11
It was just last week that the WHO stated “The world is now better prepared for future pandemics,” and though I scoffed at the time, this week as I read the news about the hantavirus outbreak I hope the WHO is right, oh how, I hope they are right.
10 days ago
1
44
4
Apparently “A hidden force is quietly pushing up costs for everything from your summer vacation to your weekly grocery bills,” and though I have noticed these rising costs as well, I must admit that “A hidden force” is an odd way of saying “steady societal collapse.”
11 days ago
0
63
20
When you see the news that McDonald’s is removing self-serve soda fountains from its locations, you may find yourself thinking “that’s depressing,” but it’s important to realize it’s not that it’s depressing, it’s that we’re in a depression.
11 days ago
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45
6
By now, you have probably heard about the deadly outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship, which is a reminder, which is yet another reminder, that we are not in an era of plague, but in an era of plagues.
11 days ago
2
91
29
When my friend, the ethicist, asks if I am “doing good?” I say “I’m trying,” and when my friend, the ethicist, asks if I am “doing well?” I change the subject.
11 days ago
0
49
15
As she talked about gardening the old punk noticed my attention was drifting, apologetically I explained it feels odd to think about building a garden at a time like this, and the old punk replied at a time like this all of us need to think about building a garden.
14 days ago
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100
31
I know, my friend, that it often feels like the world is getting worse, but research has found: “Our food is growing less nutritious” with many crops containing “fewer vitamins and minerals,” so it may feel like the world is getting worse, because it is, it really is.
14 days ago
2
54
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People keep telling me they are worried that during the pandemic far too many people lost it. And I keep telling people I am worried that during this ongoing pandemic far too many people caught it. * The 320th week of plague poems:
librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2026/05/01/p...
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Plague Poems – The Three-Hundred-and-Twentieth Week
As we discussed the news my work friend asked if I ever feel like we are all just stuck in an episode of the Twilight Zone but I replied that no, I do not ever feel that way, for I know that Twilig…
https://librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2026/05/01/plague-poems-the-three-hundred-and-twentieth-week/
14 days ago
0
34
3
I have heard in honor of international workers’ day you should attend a rally. I have heard in honor of international workers’ day you should not work or shop. And I have heard in honor of international workers’ day you should wear a mask as Covid remains a labor issue.
14 days ago
0
73
18
The professor told me as her students with smiles turned in their exams she felt like she had succeeded in teaching them something. And the professor told me as her students without masks turned in their final exams she felt like she had failed in teaching them anything.
14 days ago
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37
8
With sincere apologies to Mr. McFerrin: but I must confess that I am struggling to “don’t worry,” and I must confess that I am also struggling with the other part of those lyrics too.
15 days ago
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34
9
I know an economist who says the cost of gas will lead to disaster I know a climatologist who says our use of gas is causing disasters I know a doctor who says there’s still gas in the Covid disaster And I know a historian who says we are pouring gas on an era of disasters
15 days ago
0
82
26
According to the WHO “The world is now better prepared for future pandemics,” and while I suppose it is reassuring to hear that the world is prepared “for future pandemics,” it is difficult to believe that considering how the world has given up on the current pandemic.
15 days ago
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48
11
I will admit it had been a while since I’d been insulted so when the man sneered “I bet you’ll be buried in that mask,” it took me a moment but I caught myself and calmly responded “the whole point is to put off being buried as long as possible.”
15 days ago
2
82
15
When I asked about her last lecture the professor told me that after class students thanked her for her engaging lectures, for making study guides, for allowing extensions, but what mattered most to her was the one student who thanked her for still wearing a mask.
16 days ago
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54
7
I sent my friend, the historian of medicine, and editorial which noted “Protecting Americans from deadly, preventable diseases should not be a partisan issue,” and by way of response she said: “it shouldn’t be, but it has been, it really has been, and it is, it still is.”
16 days ago
0
37
7
As we stood beside each other in the vitamin aisle the stranger pointed to a bottle and said: “you should take these, you know, for your heart,” and though I wanted to point to my mask and say: “you should wear one, you know, for your heart,” instead I just said: “good idea.”
16 days ago
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