ART IN COVID TIME
Sonnet for Howard
I‘M NOT PERMITTED THROUGH THE HEAVY DOOR.
(YOUR STRETCHER, THOUGH, WAS WHEELED QUICKLY THROUGH.)
YOUR ROOM, THEY SAY, IS ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR,
BUT I AM GROUNDED HERE, APART FROM YOU.
YOUR VOICE IS GARBLED WHISPERS ON THE PHONE.
DON’T TALK. JUST BREATHE. I DRAW A HEART, A FACE:
A CARTOON ME, WITH SMILE—YOU’RE NOT ALONE—
AND CLICK TO SEND IT OFF, A WHOOSH THROUGH SPACE.
STAY STRONG. I PICK MY PEN UP ONCE AGAIN
AND ADD MORE HEARTS, A SUN, A BIRD, SOME TEARS.
SMALL FOOLISH DRAWINGS, WEAPONS AGAINST PAIN
(FOR ME, DISTRACTIONS FROM MY MOUNTING FEARS.)
YOUR LARGER ART IS THAT OF DRAWING BREATH.
YOUR TALENT LIES IN CIRCUMVENTING DEATH.
© Lois Lowry
I sat in an auditorium in NYC in the fall of 2015 and cried while Lois told us a beautiful story about falling in love with Howard. (Then cried again while Chris Raschka told us about Vera B. Williams.) Reading this Sonnet for Howard made me go back and listen to that story again. I hope he’s doing OK.
You can hear Lois’s story, too–it’s such a worthwhile listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQkrYvwwr48
Very touching. And how real that we do the small things, because there is usually so little to do in these situations. Enjoyed your On the Horizon poems last night.
A sonnet! to break the hearts of old English Majors.
Your Sonnet for Howard inspires me, it is so powerfully written and it flows in a way that impacts me deeply and I as a fellow creator, a poet appreciate how your words made me feel. A lifetime fan of your works, your talent knows no bounds it is always an honor to read anything you write.