The year 2020 will be remembered in many ways, but across the entire world the pandemic will always be at the top of the list. During this time of crisis, Kitty O'Meara’s poem “In the Time of a Pandemic” captures many of the emotions that people are feeling. Due to how viral it went I think it will be correlated with this time period in the future, a piece of literature that will be looked at for generations to come, to describe this life changing situation we are faced with.
In order to understand the piece better, I did some research and slight online stalking of the author. I found she is a retired school teacher from Madison, Wisconsin. She wrote the poem in efforts to decrease the anxiety that she and those around her were feeling towards the virus. In an interview with Oprah Magazine she explains the purpose of her poem "It offers a story of how it could be, what we could do with this time." She had previously been writing on her blog, which she used as sort of an outlet for her feelings. She said "I was getting kind of sad. There was nothing I could do. I couldn’t help my friends. I was very worried about them. My husband said: ‘Write. Just write again.'" And so she did. And she wrote a poem that became known worldwide that everyone, from Deepak Chopra to Bella Hadid has shared.
In attempts to understand how and why this poem became so viral, I analyzed the context and main elements that I believe contributed to its fame. They are separated and outlined below:
Relatability
Although how we are experiencing quarninteing looks vastly different depending on the person, we all share a common ground: we are all affected by this pandemic. Kitty’s poem highlights that similarity and creates a sense of inclusion. This is a very new experience for many of us, which in turn leads to new feelings that many people don’t quite know how to describe. Kitty offers words that help to pinpoint what they are, and explain them in a positive way. While we are physically being separated and isolated, the poem creates a mutual understanding that most people can relate to. One way she archives this is by the use of anaphora (repetition of first word) throughout the entire piece. The first word “And” helps add to that inclusion because it insinuates we are all in it together. If she would have used the word “or '' such as “or read books and listened, or rested and exercised, or made art and played” it would have separated the actors instead of creating one singular entity doing these actions, which is essentially all of us. It would lose the all-embracing feel it has.
Story
Her poem also reads similar to a story. There is an introduction, climax, and conclusion. It provides hope that there is not just an ending to the pandemic, but a happy ending, because she claims we will be better than before. It also flows nicely, because of the similar length in sentences and easy to read structure. There are no complex words or ideas used, which makes it accessible to most reading levels.
Location
The poem was posted on her facebook, where sharing and spreading information is as easy as a click of a button. I believe that the popularity of a text such as this, is truly dependent on the platform in which it is posted on. People have been going to facebook to share their thoughts and feelings about the virus and this poem captured it perfectly. I also believe that Facebook is a major contributing factor to the conspiracy theories around the poem. With no fact checkers, and in the online economy that profits from the number of engagment it gets, fake news on facebook spreads like wildfire. These false claims, such as that it was written during the Spanish Flu influenza in 1919, quickly grabbed people's interest. In a time of such uncertainty and well... boredom, it is easy to gravitate towards false conceptions as a way of explaining the present, and using it to provide hope for the future. I believe that this leads to a loss of credibility, because people are seeing the poem and associating it with lies. In reality however, I would argue that the actual context that it was written, which was March of 2020, makes the author much more credible to be discussing the current crisis, as she is living it in real time.
Kitty O'meara's poem, although written for herself and those closest to her, became known worldwide. She wrote her honest and raw feelings, which resonated with thousands, and thus ensuring her work will create a lasting impact.
In the Time of a Pandemic
And people stayed home
and read books and listened
and rested and exercised
and made art and played
and learned new ways of being
and stopped
and listened deeper
someone meditated
someone prayed
someone danced
someone met their shadow
and people began to think differently
and people healed
and in the absence of people who lived in ignorant ways,
dangerous, meaningless and heartless,
even the earth began to heal
and when the danger ended
and people found each other
grieved for the dead people
and they made new choices
and dreamed of new visions
and created new ways of life
and healed the earth completely
just as they were healed themselves.
Kaitilyn Bestor
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