Poem

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!