The A1 Verse: On the plains of hesitation

Every so often, a story published on the front page of the New York Times is so well written, meaningful, and appropriate to the Bulletin’s concerns that small snippets of it, properly chosen and arranged, produce something more than journalism, something that approaches … poetry. That blessed coincidence occurred March 29, 2021.

We suspect it’ll occur again.

One Nursing Home’s Mission To Vaccinate Its Hesitant Staff

(from the original by Abby Goodnough)

The vaccine had finally come.
Nearly all agreed.
Nearly half declined.
Those numbers, rounding out
the most bruising year.

Bombarded with science
to sway, a continuous loop:
No less, most of all,
to understand,
you have to listen.