Posted inPoetry

Is Anyone Listening?

by Mesro Dhu Rafa'a September 13, 2020February 27, 2022

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Is Anyone Listening?

by Mesro Dhu Rafa'a, Prison Journalism Project
September 13, 2020

<h1>Is Anyone Listening?</h1>
<p class="byline">by Mesro Dhu Rafa'a, Prison Journalism Project <br />September 13, 2020</p>
 
<p>Social distancing.<br />A deadly pathogen spreads like infestation.<br />Is anyone listening?</p>
</p>
<p>Electric fences bickering.<br />First prison security measure is always isolation.<br />Social distancing.</p>
</p>
<p>Condolences heard in the whispering<br />of over one hundred fifty thousand in our nation.<br />Is anyone listening?</p>
</p>
<p>Nurses with cotton swabs not tickling,<br />And iron bars locked twenty-four hours on the plantation.<br />Social distancing.&nbsp;</p>
</p>
<p>Man down while offenders are snickering.&nbsp;<br />The elderly can’t scream for infection invasion.<br />Is anyone listening?&nbsp;</p>
</p>
<p>Governors hedging with elections glistening.<br />While the death toll rises, the ledgers are erasing.&nbsp;<br />Social distancing.<br />Is anyone listening?</p>


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Social distancing.
A deadly pathogen spreads like infestation.
Is anyone listening?

Electric fences bickering.
First prison security measure is always isolation.
Social distancing.

Condolences heard in the whispering
of over one hundred fifty thousand in our nation.
Is anyone listening?

Nurses with cotton swabs not tickling,
And iron bars locked twenty-four hours on the plantation.
Social distancing.

Man down while offenders are snickering.
The elderly can’t scream for infection invasion.
Is anyone listening?

Governors hedging with elections glistening.
While the death toll rises, the ledgers are erasing.
Social distancing.
Is anyone listening?

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Mesro Dhu Rafa'a

George Coles-El is a poet, writer, graffiti artist and tutor. He writes under the pen name Mesro Dhu Rafa’a, which means “stand with the sun, master of the ascendants.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, he completed an anthology of writings called "Unsung Hero." He is incarcerated in California.

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