I bow in appreciation
Of the science, the technology, the skill
That inserts two lenses
Small and plastic
Into my eyes
And restores
Half a lifetime of
Living life soft-focus
To 20/20 vision
I bow my head in shame
At what I see
With this newfound clarity:
An endless stream of the dispossessed
Suffering
Suffering unimaginable sufferings
Just to go home
The uncaring looking away
The sympathetic overwhelmed
The government flailing about
The dispossessed suffering
Suffering unimaginable sufferings
Suffering
Just to go home
The new lens of the virus has
Revealed clearly
What has always been:
They have always lived their lives
One day away from destitution
Two days away from starvation
Performing acrobatics on the trapeze
For our benefit
Without a safety net
The virus has revealed
Even to those with the faultiest vision
The starkness of their reality
They have always only ever filled
The crevices of our lives
Invisible
Until now
When they are all
Visible
And how
Just wanting to go
Home