The muse Melpomene found in Pompeii. Her world was on fire, too. (Image via Wikimedia Commons)

A Song for 2020

The fucking world is on fucking fire, tra-la-la-la-la.
Between the plague and the fucking pyre, tra-la-la-la-la,
So many coffins on the bier, tra-la-la-la-la.
We’re paralyzed with doubt and fear, tra-la-la-la-la.

Someone else is saving the world, tra-la-la-la-la.
Filmed on an iPhone, click on this URL, tra-la-la-la-la.
Listen, be silent, speak up, support, tra-la-la-la-la.
Can’t trust the government, police or the court, tra-la-la-la-la.

What can be done, what can be done?
Wring our hands and stare at the sun?
Wash the dishes until day be done?
Ignore it all for escapist fun?

The poets would sing our troubles away, tra-la-la-la-la.
Pack up, for an hour, our cares away, tra-la-la-la-la.
See something, say something, do what we can, tra-la-la-la-la.
It’s not perfect, but it’s a plan. Tra-la-la-la-la.

Tra-la-la-la-la.
Tra-la-la-la-la.
Tra.
La-la.
La-la.
Lah.

— Michaeline Duskova