President-elect Joe Biden delivers his victory speech as people watch him Nov. 7 on televisions at the Athletic Club Oakland sports bar in Oakland.
Goodbye, 2020!
Good riddance, farewell!
You’ve maxed out our patience
You’ve put us through hell.
.
The year of the virus!
The year of the mask!
Be gone 2020!
That’s all that we ask.
Tom Hanks, left, and his wife, Rita Wilson, shown above arriving Feb. 9 at the Oscars in Los Angeles, announced one month later that they had tested positive for the coronavirus. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
Winter
It started half hopeful —
A normal new year —
Despite the impeachment
of Trump, our King Lear.
.
“Obstruction of Congress!”
The Democrats cried
“Abuse of his power!
Our president lied!”
.
But Trump was acquitted —
Mitch wrangled the vote —
And when the plague surfaced
We barely took note.
.
A virus in China?
That’s so far away!
It wasn’t our problem
But then came a day …
.
A day in mid-March
When Tom Hanks said, “I’m sick”
The NBA canceled
And life collapsed quick.
.
“Pandemic,” they called it
We’d live with that word
Along with so many
We rarely had heard.
.
Like “aerosols,” “lockdown”
And “COVID-19”
Like “shelter-in-place”
And the dread “quarantine.”
.
The rest’rants were shuttered
The taverns were locked
The hospitals teemed
And the loss left us shocked.
.
Each hug was a danger
Each handshake a threat
Each time we went out
We played virus roulette.
.
We learned how to distance —
Yo, 6 feet apart! —
To wash our hands often
To wipe down a cart.
.
We lived in our bubbles
We hoarded TP
We went to no concerts
But binged on TV.
.
Corona engulfed us
Like permanent weather
We sought to stay sep’rate
While also together.
.
We sanitized parcels
And often were grouchy
But all except rebels
Said, “Thank God for Fauci.”
.
The good doctor schooled us
In hope and in science
He taught us precautions
Despite Trump’s defiance.
.
The president dithered —
“Don’t worry!” he said,
“We’ll open by Easter!” —
We counted the dead.
.
We fought off despair
As we battled our gloom
We schooled kids at home
And held funerals on Zoom.
.
The health care providers
Were heroes we praised
They worked to exhaustion
For days upon days.
.
We waited in lines
To get tests, to get food …
And this was not all
That would darken our mood.
.
The body of George Floyd arrives before his memorial services on Thursday, June 4, 2020 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Spring
So much had been lost
And so much was destroyed
And then came a killing —
His name was George Floyd.
.
A cop pinned him down
And he struggled for breath
A movement exploded
Because of his death.
.
In cities and suburbs
Folks took to the street
They cried, “Black lives matter!”
They marched in the heat.
.
The young and the old —
They were Black, Brown and White —
They knew it was time
To stand up for this fight.
.
U.S. Rep. John Lewis, presented with the 2010 Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama, died in July. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Summer
The summer ticked on
Full of civil unrest
While ravaging wildfires
Ignited the West.
.
The president sputtered,
“This chaos must stop!”
He posed with a Bible —
Hey, look! Photo op!
.
He tweeted “ANTIFA!”
He spread his fake news
He goaded his fan base
To share his dark views.
.
He said he’d send soldiers —
They might have to shoot! —
Dear Lord, how we wished
We could put him on mute.
.
The country was burning
A nation in flames
At least, sighed the ball fans,
We get to watch games.
.
And while we trudged onward
Some heroes expired
Among them John Lewis
Who left us inspired.
.
We lost Kobe Bryant,
We lost Justice Ruth
Who gave us the strength
To keep fighting for truth.
.
As a new surge of COVID-19 cases spread through California in November, EMT Giselle Dorgalli, second from right, looks at a monitor while performing chest compression on a patient who tested positive for coronavirus at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Los Angeles. Jae C. Hong/Associated Press
Autumn
While small business suffered
The stock market soared
While millions went jobless
The megarich scored.
.
The virus kept surging
And so did our dread
While those in the White House
Abetted the spread.
.
The president caught it:
Oh, would he survive?
He got special treatment
And stayed quite alive.
.
He held his great rallies
(Well, not all that great)
He said he’d beat Biden
In most ev’ry state!
.
But then came November
The voters said: No!
We’re done with you, Donald
We’re voting for Joe.
.
Trump pouted and lied
And he threatened a coup
But then Mitch McConnell
Conceded: He’s through.
.
And now …
We called the year awful,
Chaotic and strange
And yet on the bright side
We learned how to change.
.
We saw life more clearly
For better and worse
We saw our divisions
And how they’re a curse.
.
Divisions of justice
Divisions of wealth
Divisions of who
Gets a chance at good health.
.
We learned about courage
Learned better to share
We learned that it’s time
For some major repair.
.
Though Facebook still stalks us
And spies on our tracks
Though misinformation
Is still spread by hacks
.
Democracy made it!
And though it feels frail
Let’s pause for a moment
To share an exhale.
.
A new year is coming
It won’t all be fun
But let’s raise a toast
To the year ’21!
Mary Schmich is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune. ©2020 Chicago Tribune. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency.
