Pandemic masks express little
of the wearer’s personality: floral,
funny, plain or heavy metal.
We focus on each other’s pupils
or look away, unsure if sparkles
are reflections of windowed souls.
Words and meanings muffled,
cloaked, and sometimes daggered waffle
to fill the spaces in between, mumbled
emotions captured in dissembled
etiquette. And how we long for smiles,
rows of teeth, and lips that unfurl like petals,
unmasked and welcoming, visible and near,
with words waiting to be spoken loud and clear.
Kim M. Russell, 3rd March 2021
My response to Poets and Storytellers United Weekly Scribblings: Wait for It
This week for Weekly Scribblings, Rommy would like us to create new poetry or prose inspired by one (or all) of the following Hamilton quotes:
- “I’m looking for a mind at work.”
- “History has its eyes on you.”
- “Talk less. Smile more.”
- “Dying is easy, young man. Living is harder.”
- “Love doesn’t discriminate between the sinners and the saints.”
I’m not overly keen on musicals, have never seen ‘Hamilton’, and don’t have a clue to what it’s about, so I am going at this with no preconceptions. I chose “Talk less. Smile more”.
writing in north norfolk 
Ah yes we long for those smiles, but even with the vaccines on tow, we will still be waiting a while before the masks are taken off . Nice one Kim
Thanks for dropping by to read mine
Much💜love
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Thank you, Gillena, Have a great day.
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Hopefully with vaccines being produced they will start being our defence against Covid soon.
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That’s what I’m hoping too, Robin!
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I am very ignorant about ‘Hamilton’ also – but I do like the line you chose, and even more I like the spin you put on it. Where I live we have not yet had any COVID cases, and in most circumstances are not required to wear masks. It’s different in the cities, of course. I imagine one becomes used to the surreal … while at the same time longing to go back to pre-pandemic ways of being.
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Thank you, Rosemary. The funny thing is that I’ve rarely worn the masks I bought as I don’t go out much at all.
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I figured a fair amount of folks wouldn’t be all that familiar with the musical and that’s fine! I really wanted to see what others would make of some of these lines out of context and you did a great job. In my household, we do favor masks that tell a little something about us. Video game characters, superheroes–I have a couple with kitsune on them. But as cute as mine are, I do look forward to relegating them to infrequent use and hope I’ll be able to do a little less muffled talking, if not this year, maybe by the time I turn 50.
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Thanks Rommy!
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Yes, you’re so right. I look for the sparkle in people’s eyes. I hired my illustrator for my new children’s chapter book because of… wait for it… SMILE! Nice capture of the prompt.
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Thanks Patti!
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Great poem Kim!
I wore a mask for the first time in weeks went I went to get vaccinated- we live in a quiet suburb where we dont wear masks on our daily walks.
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Thanks Kim. I’m the same.
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Just a few more months!
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I have my fingers crossed!
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YES!!! Waiting for the words being spoken loud and clear, not muffled and blurred; waiting for the smile that shows the whole face; waiting for human touch!
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YES!!! Waiting for the words being spoken loud and clear, not muffled and blurred; waiting for the smile that shows the whole face; waiting for human touch!
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I haven’t seen Hamilton either. I did ask my son the context of “Talk less. Smile more.” and he went into a long explanation! I told him to stop, I didn’t need all that!
Talking to someone with a mask must be hard for those who are uncomfortable with eye contact. I know a man who has problems if he can’t “read” faces.
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Anyone in the autistic spectrum would have problems. I’m slightly dead and need to see people’s lips, especially if there is any background noise.
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Before the pandemic I never realized how much I read facial expressions and even lips. With a mask on people tend to mumble a bit making it even harder.
I too miss smiling faces. Great write Kim.
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Thank you, Helene!
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A lovely response to the challenge ….. beautifully penned.
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Thank you, Helen!
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There are many beautiful masks, but I long for a full face!
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Me too, Margaret!
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The last year was a real lesson on all the acute things we took foregranted! Hoping for this to end soon! 🤞
Very well penned Kim!
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Thank you so much!
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Love it Kim, this fits mask wearing perfectly. I look for smiles, masked or unmasked. I initiate a few more than the others begin but generally get the smile soon after. Perfect, what else can we do? Smile.
..
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🙂
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Funny. I do not care for musicals, and probably will never see this. We both picked the same line.
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