evidence: The post claims that the poem was written in 1869 by Kathleen O’Mara and reprinted in 1918 during the 1918 influenza, sometimes called the Spanish flu. [...] O magazine, which interviewed O’Meara, called her the "poet laureate of the pandemic." O’Meara is a retired teacher and chaplain who lives outside of Madison, Wisc., according to the magazine. [...] O, Kitty O’Meara, author of ‘’And the people stayed home,’ opens up about writing that viral poem, March 19, 2020