By Sergio Inestrosa
PROMPT—During Covid-19 ...
"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." —HP. Lovecraft
Daily fear of this uncontrollable plague And of which we know almost nothing, An old acquaintance of mine has woken up. Those sleepless nights I thought would never return After so long of a good sleep They have returned in full force. The persistent fear of contagion has robbed me of sleep And the hours in my bed have become a torment
A sea of horrendous thoughts, An increasing uneasiness. At night I hear the hoarse whistle of the wind
And I was infected with the virus of fear. Outside there is a real threat And in an oversight we can meet death. Unable to sleep, I wonder who can I trust To whom can I tell my anguish, my sleeplessness, And this growing burden that I feel. Who can I trust this fight that I book every night
Looking to find the calm of the dream.
Sometimes I can convince myself that this is all a nightmare That they are all unfounded fears A gross trick of the rulers to dominate us Sometimes I tell myself that everything is an invention of my feverish mind Or someone very powerful who wants to ruin us; I mean, it's all a wild lie Similar to the idea that life is at stake every day.
Born in San Salvador, 1957, Sergio Inestrosa is a Spanish and Latin American Studies Professor at Endicott College in Beverly, MA. His last book Piedras para María was published in Spain, 2019. In October 2019, Sergio participated in an International Poetry Festival in Salamanca, Spain.
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