For the Record (A Poem)

A remarkable (and evolving) long poem that articulates the impact of the ongoing death toll from COVID-19

For the Record is a book-length poem whose word count is set to the number of lives lost to COVID-19 in Alberta, the author's home province—which as of January 2026 sits at 7,113 people. Told in two parts, with each section recording real-time headlines, the book begins with the first COVID-related death of Cargill meat factory worker Hiep Bui. But the poem that cannot truly end does try to end with the hope embodied in the birth of Nisha Patel's first nephew, weaving the overlapping narratives of life in precarious, unprecedented times with the bracketing of political negligence, Formula 1 racing, and gig work as an artist.

First performed to the Edmonton City Council as part of Patel's tenure as Poet Laureate, the poem began at an enormous 615 words—since then it has grown as the number of lives lost to the pandemic continues to grow. Patel wants us to remember the ordinary days and the extraordinary grief, as well as the monumental potential for hope, care, and empathy in our communities that COVID-19 teaches us as we continue to live through the ongoing crisis borne of and from a mass pandemic.