Tribute to my colleagues on the front lines against COVID-19

Working safe from home but close enough to see just a taste of what it's like for co-workers on the front lines, I'm submitting a poem in the hope those involved in direct patient care can know they are appreciated and remembered.

A tribute to my colleagues on the front lines against COVID-19
By an anonymous co-worker at a Providence foundation

In this land we call our home
we’ve a way of honoring,
and rightly so,
those who put fear aside to charge
through the fire
or under fire
to keep danger from our doors

They get a stamp to remember by

As if what’s real were not enough,
Heroes from our comic books
oft play across our movie screens
There, donning capes and masks,
to with their super powers defeat evil villains
Making our world safe again
If only in imagination

They, too, get a stamp
To remind us how inspiration feels

I’m honored to work with heroes, another kind,
who wear capes and masks of just thin paper
Knowing they are but mortal,
They put aside fears for self and family
to accept a sacred charge to heal and care
For without them, people would certain helpless lie
and sometimes die, alone,
in rooms where heroes face their fears to clean
Since all know there lurks an invisible villain

Maybe one day my heroes will get a stamp,
and rightly so,
Because, to keep the danger from our doors,
the sacrifice they own at each day’s end is worry
that they might bring with them home
the unseen villain

And, while I’m merely guessing
that a stamp might indeed be good,
if I true had the fiving power,

My gift to them would be
the simple blessing to once again, fearless,
hug their kids at night

You are appreciated