is this what it will feel like

in the end?

each of us living silently in our

houses while the TV screen

erupts at least once an hour

dousing us with panicked

headlines screaming

BREAKING BREAKING

while the video shows coffins lying

still in warehouses i never thought

it could come to this.

we hoard

toilet paper and dried gluten

while across the sea they’re

reporting even more shootings

but we don’t live in the shouting

place of transmission poles

and mounting red death tolls

we live in the quiet underneath

that seething toothed mass of

news, trying to joke or meme

ourselves out of this frightening

dream because deep down we’re

all afraid.

whether you’re voting

red or blue, we’re realising

we weren’t made to live like

cogs in a machine, built to

work like the hands of a clock.

so let’s stop. take stock.

this isn’t the time to disappear

to give in to the terror we hold

behind thin, white upper

lips.

now is the time to think

with your hips and dance on

your feet. can you hear it

the growing beat of the hearts

you live next to through the

walls and across the street?

no matter the struggle, no

matter the land, we can be

better.

open your heart and listen. our

fears are the same, but so are

our hopes, our tears and our dreams.

let’s reach out now,

instead of hiding in.

 

Together, we will get through this.

Woshibai is an incredible cartoonist and illustrator hailing from Shanghai, China. Drawing was something that came naturally to him from a young age, and while he became a freelance illustrator in 2016, he only began drawing comics a year later by chance. He finds his inspiration in books, music, photography, and all kinds of art. His illustrations show us the hilarity of meaningless moments from modern life, and provide unexpected, thought provoking commentaries on what it means to be human.

His comic book, “Game”, was published in China in 2019. 

Check out his fabulous, minimalist designs on his Instagram handle (woshibaii), website (woshibai.cargocollective.com), or shop his designs at woshibai.bigcartel.com

Words by us.