Sunday, May 3, 2020

I Will Remember the Time When...


Life halted.
We were locked down.
I didn’t go to work.
I didn’t leave the house.
I compared death tolls between countries.
I listened to repetitive daily briefings.
There was no other news.
I couldn’t get any shopping.
Toilet roll and flour were like gold-dust.
I couldn’t see my lovely sister.
I got creative with random ingredients.
My kids felt utterly lost.
I wanted to do things but lacked motivation.
Nature reclaimed territory.
Bluebells filled my garden.
The weather was annoyingly glorious.
We clapped our hands on a Thursday night.
It felt like Groundhog Day.
I missed my friends.
I yearned for cafes, the library, company and chat.
I didn’t wear make-up.
I lived in my dressing gown.
I wrote things like this because I didn’t know what else to do.



Lockdown Neighbourhood Watch.


He’s cutting the grass again.
It can’t have grown much since yesterday.
Incessant whir of the lawnmower.
My neighbour’s Lockdown OCD.

Another fucking barbeque.
Time to close the windows.
Goodbye, Fresh Air,
I will try again tomorrow.

Gaming teen screaming obscenities
Through paper-thin walls,
As I try to relax
In these “unprecedented times.”

The five thousand grandkids
Arrive to visit their Nan.
The rules don’t apply to them.
What Lockdown?

Someone has a supermarket delivery.
I see the van, and I want to cry.
How did they get that slot?
The bastards.

Every little domestic gripe,
I hear,
Simply because,
I am here.

If this ever happens again,
I’m blasting out Green Day.
Throughout.
Fuck it.