‘Walking directions…’ response

Emily here. This is a creative response to Jerry’s weird list, “Walking directions to a place free from fear.” I carried over Jerry’s title and the wandering search for safety. Then I took a scary New York Times article, and tried to create an erasure poem that could achieve the title.

Walking directions to a place free from fear.

Close?

South and west

Steps to take: more than 200

Just two days, and the new chaotic starts.

Stop-and-start.

Bounce between

Widespread springs

All-private region

Home to saints

Young powers

Health

Open, renewed

Avoid long tropical portions

Particularly the Sun Belt

Soon

Within two weeks

Lights up!

It took no time at all

I don’t know that we should wait around

It is important

Likely to get serious

Some are skeptical that it is safe

Based on science

Based on wishful thinking

About 55 miles away

Face a train

Delay the start

So all we are

Was made to delay

High in northern charts

Big open spaces

Still.

Start:

Experience anything

It’s kind of like drinking out of a fire hose because it’s happening so fast.