Fevers of the Mind, aka Brain Fever, is an antiquated term for emotional distress which can lead to serious illness. If you don't have that about now, you're not paying attention. Being human in 2022 means suffering from emotional distress most of us have never felt before. Here in Italy the old-timers say it's similar to the feeling they had every day during the Big War. Like a bomb might come down on you at any moment. And then there are the lasting effects and serious related illnesses still to come, other brain fevers. Wow, not an easy time.
Fevers of the Mind is also an excellent no-nonsense Poetry & Art magazine. The boss is David L O'Nan, my thanks to him. Right now in Fevers of the Mind you'll find SIX, that's 6, of my recent poems dealing with the pandemic. The accompanying picture is of the Plague Doctor Reaper with the classic Beaked Mask, that covered the face and kept the infected breath at a distance, but also started the legend of the Grim Reaper who comes to gather souls. The Black Death lasted 7 years and killed maybe 200 million people. Our current plague has already killed over 6 million (maybe several times that) and has lasted 2 years, but we're still in the thick of it. Mercy.
So, people like me can't create a vaccine to cure the virus, but we can express something in writing. Maybe that something can reach out to another person somewhere out there. Maybe to hold hands virtually. Read these poems and all the others in Fevers of the Mind to find out. Find out what's going on, what's going on inside our collective consciousness. Then say it with me:
We are alive.
https://feversofthemind.com/2022/02/02/pandemic-poetry-from-e-martin-pedersen/
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