pandemic haiku - moma.org

Pandemic Haiku

Gregg Bordowitz

BORDOWITZ | PANDEMIC HAIKU 3

Virus variant Becoming dominant strainPasta for dinner

Therapist sessionClimate change catastrophePandemic spreading

Breath on cell phone glassElectronic devicesAutumn cold alone

Food deliveryBox left outside doorbell ringPrivilege greets air


Cold air coffee date Smiley eyes social distanceWarm brown stimulant

Candid as a nudeSurvivor amidst wreckageOne lonely figure

Chewy candy dropsWinter bare branches fig treeLeafless. Still, there’s buds

I recognize this First the piano then hornSmoky atmosphere


Masks wet with hot breathDouble layer cotton veilsWhole mind feels muffled

Frying potatoesMushrooms, tofu soaking oilWait for heat to work

You’ll sew and I’ll mendWe swap gripes like poker chipsAnd angrily cope

Bedside lamp on brightSnuggling under down blanketTogether reading

A group togetherEach in their own rectangleStudying Torah

Fear the slightest draftsOld window insulationA wood-frame house tilts

My dry sinuses Cause irritating headaches For me and others


Time to be aloneTo listen to my musicNo interruptions

Birds, insects, and fishDisappear from the planetWe watch old movies

Writing without thoughtPen to paper, shaky handSnow melting off trees

Nature is beyondWhat’s seen through steamy glass panesSock feet on cold tiles

Fiery snowfall ashCold and heat are similarBoth can burn the flesh


Cold snowy lockdownListening hard to stillnessDistracted by thoughts

Second dose vaccineArm stiffening, ache spreadingQuick reaction time

Bodies heal themselvesDrinking fluids. Taking napsAnd sometimes they die

Winter brevityWhat’s left unsaid on cornersLest we freeze to death

The frontline workersShould get the support they needBut rollout is slow

Viscous densityNightmare walking through waterAirless gelatin


Black Lives Matter marchEvenly spaced protestersGathering safely

Walking, sad, near tearsCan’t fully comprehend this Accumulation

Dry heaves this morningCold beads of sweaty fatigueDozing on and off


Sum total of lossIt’s unquantifiableNo way to measure

Electric grid failsWater contaminatedPeople are freezing

Forgotten artistsEmpty museum hallwaysNeglected pictures

Eleven months inVirus variants appearWaiting for vaccines

COVID pandemicRepeats AIDS crisis problemsWho owns the patents?

Herd immunity Conjures images of cowsChewing grass slowly

Worrying the sheetA dog’s paws circle and digInto bed mattress


When a poet diesCity lights surge against dawnJust before sunrise

Greenland is meltingPollinators are dyingHellebore fighting

Terrible lossesEach suffers grieving aloneA void where he was


Contact tracing listCity Health Department textsNotifications

Two friends find loversPandemic times are lonelyPeople find their ways

We’re separated By vulnerabilityInto groups and waves

Winter becomes spring As a checkerboard patternRolled upon itself

Passover sederHeld on Zoom during COVIDFor the second year

Celebrate the deadWelcome them into the homeHold conversations


The fig leaves spiral Out of the knobby green twigsSurprised it survived

Long haulers sufferFatigue confusion short breathsFor several months

AnniversaryBlossoms bursting amidst blightSoil alive with grubs

At the mountain’s baseForever chemicals poolPandemic planet

Nothing more thoughtfulThan the daffodil turned downPondering the soil


“Unseasonable”(As if seasons still exist)The plants hold secrets

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Pandemic Haiku Gregg Bordowitz 2021

Published on the occasion of the exhibition Gregg Bordowitz: I Wanna Be Well, on view at MoMA PS1, May 13–October 11, 2021, and organized by Peter Eleey, former Chief Curator, with Josephine Graf, Assistant Curator.

Gregg Bordowitz: I Wanna Be Well originated at the Douglas F. Cooley Memorial Art Gallery, Reed College, curated by Stephanie Snyder, Anne and John Hauberg Director and Curator, on view August 30–October 21, 2018.

The exhibition was previously presented at the Art Institute of Chicago, April 4–July 14, 2019, co-organized by Robyn Farrell, Associate Curator, and Solveig Nelson, Visiting Curator. Special thanks to Ann Goldstein, Deputy Director, and Chair and Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art.

Pandemic Haiku is published by the Cooley Gallery, Reed College. © Gregg Bordowitz, 2021 Design: Heather Watkins Typeset in Questa Slab, from a family of typefaces collaboratively designed by Martin Majoor and Jos Buivenga.

pandemic haiku - moma.org

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