How could life ever be the same
now that we’ve finished eight seasons
of this Showtime original featuring
Mandy Patinkin as Saul Berenson
and Claire Danes as the unpredictable
Carrie Mathison.
We’ve pored through the evils of this world
foreign and domestic and worse,
from within:
the inner conflict that defines who we are
by what we do
and who we serve.
And like we needed 96 hours of television
to be reminded of that
but we savored every minute.
Now in this post-Homeland global pandemic
where we are all fat and alcoholic
thumbing our phones,
tracking orders, breaking down boxes,
tossing them in bins.
Where do we turn to
with 50 million ways to lose ourselves
in a box?
We aren’t much different
than we were in the colosseum
cheering for the kill.
Our need to project ourselves on stage
for the violence and drama we lack in our own lives.
Stories and performances to offer
something true. And always,
a distraction.

Categories: poetry, writing

Tags: COVID, Homeland, poem