The Quarantine Chronicles, Day 49

DAY 49: Okay, I'll start. Nobody else

seems to be onboard. I'll go first. For

the 20,000 Italians, the 40,000 Americans

150,000 Humans, all numbers underestimated

by a factor of 3-10 -- for all the brave

souls dead of the virus in only a

couple months, I GRIEVE, I

MOURN, I CRY -- I hereby

declare a year of official mourning

during which each survivor

will focus each day on mourning

the dead one by one, one name

one essence, one personality at a

time -- most religions encourage

the living to honor the dead

in ritual and rhyme for safe

passage to whatever's next -- we

owe them that, we owe something to

those who were disposed of, those who 

vanished -- we owe ourselves the healing

power of grief -- GOOD GRIEF

said the sage Charles Brown,

if we don't mourn, if we talk

about beaches and burgers

numbers and graphs, we

will give ourselves a second

virus, COVID-20, the hungry bug 

that eats into our hearts until

there's nothing left -- not to

grieve for selfishness, for 

our own sake, or for them

the missing, for cosmic balance

for whatever reason, no reason.

No. Grieve because we must.

We must.