Last summer, I observed many in my community foolishly and dangerously celebrate graduation open houses without following any of the protocols meant to prevent the spread of Covid-19. It came as no surprise that days later many of those infected at those open houses were in their cars in lines of 22 cars and more stretched down the highway as they got tested for the pandemic. Many in my community were infected and a portion of them died from their infection. And, now, here are pictures of the living brain dead foolishly celebrating on the beaches of Florida, getting infected and then coming home to infect those with whom they have contact.
In light of our humanity’s tendency to never learn from history, and history no more distant than 6 to 10 months, I composed the following poem and music. It is based on the human behavior that occurred during the many years in which the Bubonic Plague eliminated close to 5 million Europeans. The same “eat,drink and be merry” behavior was a major part of why so many people died needlessly at that time in history. As our scientists and our medical experts declare constantly, Covid-19 has no conscience and in terms of killing people shows no consideration for one’s education, economic status, or in what community one lives. Covid-19 is an equal opportunity killer, preying upon the weakminded and those foolishly defying the infection. It is reminiscent of a quote from the movie “Animal House”, in which Dean Wormer tells the student, Flounder, “Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life.” Dean Wormer’s observation should be heard and followed by the those on the beaches of Spring Break.
THE FEAST OF FOOLS: A Pandemic Danse Macabre
“Eat, drink, and be merry,”
the cry goes out,
as the party ensues.
Unsteady bodies, alcohol impeded
joints and limbs, numbed
commonsense, as they
dance, fornicate, and drink,
unknowing or ignoring
the Black Spectre of Death
who peers at these simpletons
through its beaked-face mask,
patiently awaiting the moment
its sharpened blade makes
its downward journey
upon the necks of the partying.
One would think
armed with historical fact,
the simpletons of today
would have learned
from the deaths of close
to four hundred million
human lives, who chose
to dance in drunken abandon
beneath the blade of the
Beaked-faced, Middle Age demon.
Stupidity, as infectious as the plague,
the one human constant
throughout the ages,
dooming the dimwitted
to foolishly dare pandemic demons
to strike them down.
Brazen stupidity will not
save them from fact.
The grim Beak-faced Spectre
grins at their challenge
sharpens its ax,
… and strikes.
(c) 2020 by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved.
