WTF Were the Grown-Ups Thinking?:
A Poem for College Undergraduates Nationwide
Dear young adults, please do us proud
Of your budding social graces
As now you move, a giant crowd,
Back to your campus places.
Please use your smarts, do as you vowed:
Stand apart at least six paces,
And t’ prevent a covid aerosol cloud,
Wear masks upon your faces.
Be brave, stand up, don’t just stand by
When peers flout common sense.
Your health’s at risk—and so is mine—
the dangers are immense.
Say “friends, by now we all know why
Masks are the best defense
Against th' contagious coronavi-
Rus. Don, or go I hence.”
If peers reply, "We've none to wear
Until our laundry’s done,"
Now's the time to show you care
By offering to give them some
From your stash—you're so prepared
This problem to overcome!
But if “Ne'er!” they shout, then do not err:
Swiftly from them run.
I know you’re young, I know you’re strong,
I know you're kind and wise.
Most of you know right from wrong,
Yet still I agonize.
Choosing well th’semester long
Will be, ‘tis no surprise,
A challenge. Thus I beg you, throng:
Mask! Distance! Sanitize!
