Ted Littleford
The whole earth is off the ground
Said the child, of something he was building
With blocks he had raised but by now had torn down
And we all smiled and were amused
And some of us (sorry) searched for sense
And even wisdom in his innocence
The Covid Times wisdom
That acknowledges something deep has shifted
As profound as the angle of the earth toward the sun
And most all of that is decidedly not fun
And you don’t only find it in his view of the blocks
But in headlines that once would have shocked
“Breathing machines are being flown to Kansas”
And in their flight there was a near-miss with Dorothy and the dog
Who were just returning from Oz and were lost in the fog
Or how about “There is no oxygen in the southern part of Texas”
Well, of course not, how could there be
When all the oxygen supplies have come sliding to you and me
Up here in the northeast where it is needed most
Because we talk so much here, about what is fair
And who’s the leader who’s in charge of the air
Anyone can see what the problem is
Why the oxygen is so low
Why people can’t breathe in Hidalgo
Just ask my grandson
Though he’s not been around
He knows already the whole earth
Is off the ground.
