Comin’ thro’ the Vi (rus)
Gin a body meet a body
Comin’ thro the vi…rus
Don’t come near to me, my dear
Though you may feel desirous
Nae laddie may lie doon wi’ me
Nae laddie steal my heart
‘Tis a’ because the lads and I
Must stay six feet apart
Gin a body kiss a body
Need a body ask?
Ask or not, there’ll be no kisses,
Even with a mask
Nae laddie may lie doon wi’ me
Nae laddie steal my heart
‘Tis a’ because the lads and I
Must stay six feet apart
Gin a body meet a body
Joggin’ up the path
We must beware, lest we might share
Our particles of breath
Nae laddie may lie doon wi’ me
Nae laddie hear me sigh
There’ll be no hanky panky while
We’re comin’ thro’ the virus
Leslie Monsour has received five Pushcart Prize nominations and an NEA fellowship. A native of Hollywood, California, she grew up in Mexico City, Chicago, and Panama and is the author of The Alarming Beauty of the Sky (2006) and The House Sitter (2011). Her poems, essays, and translations have appeared most recently in Literary Matters and The Dark Horse. Stay tuned for The Powow River Poets Anthology II with her Introduction, and, soon to follow, watch for the revised, updated, and expanded Colosseum Critical Introduction to Rhina P. Espaillat from Franciscan University Press.