FIVE months, 21 weeks, 147 days.
Covid-19 has changed our lives in so many different ways.
No one could have anticipated,
The immense shift in perspective.
Or the adaptations we’ve made,
To cope with the life we’re left with.
Masks are now as mundane as a hat,
And hand gel is the new norm.
These brand-new daily habits,
Are fundamental to the new life we’ll form.
While masks are intended to cover,
But in doing so they have revealed
The alternate mask we wore,
Our social, metaphorical shield.
But in order to make room,
That mask had to fall.
Our barrier was let down,
We had to bear it all.
Our vulnerable self,
Scared and afraid.
Unprecedented times,
Some cried, some prayed.
900,000 and counting,
So many deaths, so much pain.
And while that is awful and tragic,
There must be something to gain.
In the lowest of times
Look deep for the light,
That shines from the darkness
Like a streetlamp at night.
We united, became one,
In the midst of despair.
We genuinely listened.
We genuinely cared.
No more empty ‘how are you?’s
Or a flippant ‘have a good day’.
We sat down and talked
To hear what people had to say.
Because we weren’t all fine.
It’s not been easy, it’s been tough.
People are dying and grieving.
We need to acknowledge this is rough.
That’s why these conversations,
Mean more than ever before.
We need to open our ears.
We need to open our door.
You never know what is coming.
Tomorrow is never for sure.
So hold those around you tightly.
Love them that little bit more.
Appreciate what you took for granted,
The fresh air, a walk in the park.
Because once they’re taken away.
Life can be pretty bleak, and stark.
A coffee with a friend,
The cinema, a date.
This pandemic has shown us,
We do not have time for hate.
Life is so fragile,
So susceptible to disaster.
When the only hope is a ventilator
Not an ice pack or a plaster.
Take a second and step back.
View your life from the outside.
If everything were stripped from you,
Would you walk away with pride?
Would you hold your head up high,
Knowing you lived and loved each day?
Would you be satisfied,
That you lived your life that way?
In a library full of books of life,
Would you pick your one from the shelf?
Would you read it and smile,
At your friends, your family, yourself?
Don’t waste this opportunity,
To evolve and change what was wrong.
One day we will look back and say,
Covid-19? We came out strong.
Anonymous, 16-years-old
We welcome your poems
Have you written any verse? We’d love to be able to share them with our readers, email news@wokingham.today
