As with the clouds up in the sky
Ushered by zephyrs floating by
No two fires share common flame
No two days can be the same
Love may bond two different souls
Whilst each look to separate goals
And those who read this over time
Might take something unique from this short rhyme
Choice can be problematic
Each leads to its own consequences
Reason shouldn’t be erratic
It must override subjective senses
Consider then each decision
Weigh the different choices
Don’t view any with derision
Or listen only to the loudest voices
Some outcomes may not be desirable
Others could bring gains
But all options on the table
Can be reduced ‘til one remains
That one will pass the acid test
Even if it carries a bitter sting
It will always be the best
If to do it is the right thing
What face denies warm April sun
When winter’s cold has been and gone
So this shadow must move on
We will endure, we will have won
‘Til then we’ll do what must be done
Protect and care for everyone
In the ebb and flow of conversation
Words convey much more than facts
They are used ON you!
They can, for example, encourage, chastise, cheer you, pull you down
What they always do, because they are intended to, is to affect you
If you do not realise this, you will become a victim of words
Every time someone speaks to you
Ask yourself the questions “Why have they said that?”
And “Why in those words ?”
The answers might not suggest a bad reason
Most people do not use words as a weapon
At least not all the time
But they do want the words to have an effect.
Hope neither lends itself to reason
Nor the strictures of the finite
It has little shape but great substance
Which, paradoxically, laughs at Newton’s Laws
Instead, the well it draws from is unfathomably deep
Like quantum particles it can be in more than one place at a time
And, as with dark matter, defies observation and containment
It is, and always will be, ephemeral
None-the-less, all humanity relies upon it daily
Especially so, in times such as these
Normal Conversation: The art of talking with someone about you whilst pretending to be interested in them.
Lockdown Conversation: Being grateful to engage safely and meaningfully with another human being by any means possible on any topic of their choosing.
Listen if you will in the quiet of the night
To the scraping and scratching of things out of sight
To the noise of blood as it roars in your ears
To the beat of your heart as it measures your fears
Somewhere in the house a clock says tick-tock
Below in the street a key clicks in its lock
The third stair from the top creaks as it might
When stepped on in stealth by something so slight
Then hinges in want of an oil drop or more
Announce a faint shadow at the bedroom door
You turn on a light to see who is there
Not even a dust mote moves in the air
Return to the pillow, try to find sleep
The visitor is gone, no need to weep
I’ll be two months old tomorrow
Half of that in what the telly calls ‘lockdown’
Mum and dad try to hide their sorrow
Not able to take me round town
Grandparents’ hugs; just a distant memory
I must hope they are still alright
One day there might be a remedy
Though that day isn’t yet in sight
Tight confines of mother’s womb
Now swapped for my parents’ home
This serves as a loving classroom
But how long for the chance to roam?
I must stay positive, I really must
Scampering across this film of dust
Whiskers tremble on twitching nose
Alert, examining empty shadows
Mice, who once were spoiled for choice
Now mourn their loss in squeaky voice
Tiny claws make tinny sounds
On bare metal shelving battlegrounds
A dozen different types of bread
Empty spaces here instead
Beans and pasta, once stacked proud
Now all gone, with the crowd
Long life milk disappeared
Hoarded selfishly, and not shared
Toilet rolls that made a good nest
Vanished suddenly with the rest
Long gone ancestors and early forebears
Told of shortages in the war years
Awry the plans of mice and men
Failed to stop it once again
This orient-born global threat
A cloud passing before the sun
Its silent shadow crossing our lands
Killing without a gun
The world awaits the final account
Holding its collective breath
Invisible, insidious, stealthy, amoral
This viral agent of death
There is no border it respects
No peoples beyond its reach
‘Self-isolate’ is the official advice
Don’t panic-buy they pathetically beseech
Come the time when those left re-emerge
Grateful to be disease free
Only to know it will happen again
A Malthusian catastrophe
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