Typewriter Rodeo: What To Do, What To Do

Each week, the Standard reaches out to Austin’s Typewriter Rodeo for a custom poem on Texas topics.

By David FruchterNovember 13, 2020 8:53 am,

Coronavirus cases are on the rise in almost every part of the country. And even as holidays approach and pandemic fatigue wears on, experts caution it’s best to stay at home as much as possible. So what to do? That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.

What To Do, What To Do (A Plaguetime Poem)

it’s a perfect time to take up knitting
learn to play the bass

finally master baking bread
figure out my face

read those Shakespeare tragedies
train the dog to sit

have a contest with myself
see how far i can spit

write twenty letters, fifty postcards
get politically engaged

follow all the news i can
until i get enraged

do some burpees, do some yoga
put a garden in

embrace forgotten virtues
cast off sloth and sin

and i’ll get around to all of that
now that i have the time

i just have one more show to binge
and then i’ll write that rhyme

i’ve been meaning to write

for you

image of original typewritten poem

If you found the reporting above valuable, please consider making a donation to support it here. Your gift helps pay for everything you find on texasstandard.org and KUT.org. Thanks for donating today.