Anticlimax (Poetry)

At last we’ve got the letter*
it finally has come
a fair but weak announcement
with no bugle and no drum

We’d anticipated something
more emphatic — strong and strict
stating rules and regulations
not mere waving of the fist

against fools who might ignore it
choose to flout all common sense
those impervious to reason
too undisciplined and dense

Primed by online good advice — we
are as careful as can be
we’re staying in — we’re keeping calm
while we pray we’re virus-free

It’s a scary situation
expectations come and go
since that letter says just more or less
what we already know


*Received 7/4/20