Dave Bonta's "Lockdown" is a short, tense poem about what it feels like when money dries up and people can't work. The opening lines are plain and almost like a news report: little money coming in, and people who live "only by shifts" — those paid by the hour or the day, with nothing to fall back on. The poem then jumps to a raw reaction. These people "have to howl," as if talking calmly about the situation is no longer enough.
The second stanza turns inward. The speaker says "we are burnt by fear," which suggests the worry is physical, like a scorch. "Blue in the belly" sounds like a cold, sinking feeling in the gut, a mix of anxiety and hunger. The final image, "like a captain not at sea," is the most striking. A captain without a sea has skill and purpose but nowhere to use it. The mood is anxious, restless, and helpless, and the "we" suggests the speaker shares this feeling rather than just watching from outside.