Life in the Time of Corona Detail for Emerald Coast Writers

Phantom Freedom

John Gibson

A ghost-like bug roams,
Its float-abouts unknown,
And yet its every perceived move
Turns a knob in the minds of vain and aspiring men,
Which in turn tightens a figurative noose…
…around us,
…around our people,
…around our industrious acts,
…around our comings and goings,
…around our very subsistence,
…but mostly around an illusion.

Lamentably, it’s only in crisis
When you learn just how free you are not;
How in possession of your destiny you are not;
How warmly within the hearts of villains you are valued…not.

Our freedom – like the bug we call “Corona” – is phantom-like,
Its essence fading, melding…
Into and out of existence, as our death knell – and that of our liberty – materializes.

Life in the Time of Corona

Within weeks after March 11, 2020 World Health Organization’s declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic, West Florida Literary Federation offered its writers a catharsis. By April, regional writers were submitting words and images to preserve this time in history. The ongoing project began with Phase I, a special edition of The Legend published in May. It featured more than thirty juried submissions. Life in the Time of Corona continues with Phase II, updated as submissions are accepted. Here are the voices of health care workers, poets, essayists, historians, and the images of artists and photographers, documenting this time in Northwest Florida's history. The ongoing project ends with the advent of a vaccine or declaration by the World Health Organization.

Life in the Time of Corona Detail for Emerald Coast Writers

Phantom Freedom

Phantom Freedom

Life in the Time of Corona

CONTENTS

Photo Essay

Prose

Poetry

Short Fiction

The Legend