Masked Warrior- Jolie Dottinger

Each day this year has been a rollercoaster. When I think of the year 2020 in general, all I can think about is how we're living through a historical time period. Through all the tragedy, deaths, and protests that are taking place in our world right now, I wanted to share a poem I wrote about all the healthcare workers who have helped us out of the dark hole that we suffered through that is called "Covid-19". I think these people are real heroes and as we enter a new phase of this year which is the Black Lives Matter Movement, I want to show appreciation for the very people that have ensured that we're all still here, healthy, and ready to make a change in our world. 

Masked Warrior

Some heroes wear capes, 

Others wear masks. 

These very sacred paper protecting accessories 

hold grief, pain, and suffering. 

But returning each day, 

They travel into the world, 

Divide and conquer. 

The fear that hides behind never escapes, 

But selflessly battles the destruction,

Caused by the monster. 

The kind that takes lives, freedom, joy. 

The kind that locks people away for months on end, 

Like a mischievous King. 

The kind named Covid-19. 

But these heroes, our heroes

Ensure that our eyes can flutter open and shut every day. 

As we drift into a dream and sleep away 

The worry we endlessly fight. 

Our soldiers return from the bloodshed,

Paralyzed with angst and shock,

Mind cluttered with the sights 

That we call the depths of this event. 

Welcomed into their once known homes, 

Leaving the homes whom the patients knew

Loved, cherished the caregiving received. 

As the armor is stripped from the face

Resembling an era of war

Of history. 

The face will never forget,

Weakness seen, agony heard, death smelled.

Because now there is a rebirth

Of the face,

That will tell tales.

Recognizable of their courage,

Their strength,

Their wisdom, 

When even at times they tried to believe,

That one day,

They’d be okay.