’Twas the turn of a new decade
’Twas the dawn of a new year
What had passed had been quite sombre
But something worse would soon appear
There was a virus; an infection
Fever, malaise and coughing
It was spreading at a rapid rate
And showed no signs of stopping
At first they worried for the elderly
And those with something underlying
But it was troublesome for everyone
There could be no denying
And so the humans they decided
That this thing must be repelled
They considered and they blithered
Then they went and paused the world
Self isolation measures
Meant they all must stay at home
And every introvert rejoiced
As interaction was postponed
On every child across the land
A huge smile could be seen
For school was closed for boys and girls
And those who dwelled between
It was crazy, it was frantic
Hysteria did unfold
En masse they flocked towards the shops
Buying all the toilet rolls
They used every ounce of self restraint
When the sun hung outside smiling
It winked and cooed and soothed their mood
And was really quite beguiling
The dogs, they were ecstatic
They bounced giddily on all fours
Because their human friends they loved and missed
Now had to stay indoors
Parents quickly came to realise
Having kids all day was tough
And soon came to the consensus
That teachers just weren’t paid enough
They invested in their hobbies
And found new ways to spend the day
Many even started podcasts
Despite not having much to say
It was a time of much reflection
Navel gazing saw a rise
That there was more to life than jobs and screens
Seemed to come as a surprise
Masks adorned their faces
And they passed with extra speed
There was much talk of compassion
But even more displays of greed
“2 metre gap, 2 metre gap!”
The cries rang out like a klaxon
And all the misanthropic types
Gained tremendous satisfaction
World leaders pointed fingers
“We must find out who’s to blame!”
Which perhaps was rather futile
Whilst people suffered all the same
Erroneous and spurious
The truth was quite elusive
Professionals in every field
Had nothing deemed conclusive
So they went online for answers
They scoured and scanned for hours
And finding nothing fruitful
Pinned it on the 5G towers
Everyone knew someone
Who’d got word from someone they knew
That garlic, baths or ritual dance
Would ward off the deadly ague
For combustion and commuting
A restriction was upheld
And they sat at home computing
When the humans paused the world
Roads lay barren and abandoned
They went just where they could tread
And whilst they thought about the breaths they took
Earth got to breathe instead
And that’s how it transpired
When the humans stopped the clock
Though economies came crashing down
Everyone was taking stock
They realised what they wanted
Only when taken from their hands
A swift reminder of mortality
Halted all their future plans
They craved their absent loved ones
Those far away and those they’d lost
And appreciated value
That went beyond a simple cost
Through all the tribulation
One question would remain
How did they want their world to be
When it started up again?
By Kurt Deed