a long-term symptom of this peculiar viral infection
is loss of smell.
yet bullshit
spewn from a particular asshole
smells
like victory…
heady, sweet…
the sort dogs wallow in
rolling back and forth and forth and back
tongues wagging
in mysterious ecstasy,
dreaming of greatness.
but the writhing celebration invokes consternation and
unrare cursing among loved ones and neighbors
to whom
turd is turd
not holy word.
infectious? oh my yes.
and deadly.
eludes standard treatments,
and won’t succumb soon.
no vaccine known to science will make this herd immune.
rather place hope in the shovel brigade.
they follow the elephant
scooping up the stinking piles,
hauling them elsewhere to decompose.
Heroes these.
Still, the stench lingers and there, a stain.
a reminder that there is much to mourn
and more to bury
deep, soon,
before the next wave crests.