Val Kelly and Dave Robins
I’m Val Kelly and I’m excited to have received my second vaccination shot today! And, I’m Dave Robins. Val and I are married and live in Stow, Ohio. We wrote our poems separately, but they were so similar in tone that we have combined them into one poem.
Enormous Gratitude
It’s the sense of always
waiting for my turn
that is the curse of the youngest in any family,
the feeling of exasperation
with a heightened delight
from suspense.
It’s the realization
of following in brave footsteps,
of enormous gratitude.
Thank you, dear vaccine,
and to all who made you possible.
It’s the beauty of the sun creating shadows
and warmth on a late winter day
that reminds me of life as (it was) before
and what (I hope) it will be again.
It’s knowing how lucky I’ve been,
and how my luck has not been universal.
Vaccine, please, bring us together.