Thursday, August 13, 2020

Lockdown

There were better times
we know that now
as we huddle in isolation
telling each other
we're all in it together

the truth is
we're all in it for ourselves

we distance from one another
and strip supermarket shelves
because death is a terrifying prospect
it means we could be left in the dark, alone
we gave up the idea of God long ago

our new society of fabric masks
are only an extension
of the ones we already wear
we're used to hiding behind multiple layers
they should feel natural
eyes, peering over the top
remind us of our humanity

we wait

because mother nature has other plans
while we quiver in death's face
she repairs our multitude of sins
now we live them from behind closed doors
in lockdown
away from judgement
away from peering eyes
we're left alone to face ourselves
and our darkness
to let mother nature do her job
because we know we can't
we had our chance and failed

and we wait
for better times
huddled together in our clusters
while the sun
continues to shine down on us

- Melbourne, August 2020

(Poem written and created as part of a spoken word video, link here)