Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Writing the Apocalypse was a weekly series featuring

the poems, essays, and recollections of NYC resident Puma Perl.

Then came the vaccine, and hope–and uncertainty.  And so, from time to time, Perl will return to continue

Writing the Apocalypse.

Except for the Noise | TEXT & PHOTOS BY PUMA PERL

The rain has stopped

Sunlight streams calmly

over my geraniums, leaves

no longer trembling in fear

of floods and gods

Wind has stopped, the howling

doors and hallways are still

It is quiet

on this 9AM Thursday,

cars whisper on the highway,

thirteen floors below

Just two runners

along the East River Park,

which waits, as we all do,

for destruction

Another morning after

(I remember the bright blue

of September 12)

Trees barely swaying

Nobody walks on Water Street

Even the vibrations of my building

are muted,

no maintenance man singing

along to his gospel station

as he mops the hallway,

no breakfast smells

of neighbor’s bacon and pancakes

It’s almost a pandemic calm,

except for the noise

of crumbling governments

and the stomping

of human rights

The air is dry

except for the tears.

© puma perl, 09/02/21

Puma Perl is a poet and writer, with five solo collections in print. The most recent is Birthdays Before and After (Beyond Baroque Books, 2019.) She is the producer/creator of Puma’s Pandemonium, which brings spoken word together with rock and roll, and she performs regularly with her band Puma Perl and Friends. She’s received three New York Press Association awards in recognition of her journalism, and is the recipient of the 2016 Acker Award in the category of writing. Her most recent books can be found by clicking here.

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