Robert Allen - Issue 37

Robert Paul Allen lives on a lake near the coast of Maine. He has been a serious poet for the past ten years and has published over 50 poems. He has written two chapbooks “Between the Panes” and more recently “Full Circle” published in June 2025. He writes because he enjoys it. He enjoys it because he is keeping memories of people, places, and events alive through word pictures.

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Filling In the Lines

When the virus arrived in our town,

death dominated the news. 

It wasn’t just the elderly, the infirm,

but healthy adults, children too.

Professionals wondered, had their time passed?

For some, the die had been cast.

A few retirees traded in golf shirts 

to return in scrubs. The exec

scrambled for gear to safeguard

patients and staff. As the epidemic

punched holes in the line, the places of the dead

were filled by those ready

to commit. For them it was a calling

to help the afflicted breathe

and not lose hope. In fear of bringing

the virus in to feast 

on their families, doctors and nurses

showered outdoors with hoses, covered

themselves with Purell, donned clean clothes

before entering their homes. 

When some fell ill, despite precautions, 

others without being bulldozed,

stepped in to fill the gaps, took extra shifts,

knowing first-hand the risks.

They weren’t feted on the front pages

but were acknowledged champions

to the stricken and their families.

They’re our heroes and heroines, 

the brave ones, others foremost in their minds,

who reported to fill in the lines.