A lockdown ode from member Pauline Rhodes
Winter used to be the time of good will
Now Covid has introduced a deadly chill.
Makes you wary, makes you sad,
Makes you miss all the things you had!
The weather doesn’t help I fear,
Not like the Spring Lockdown last year.
Every day just seems the same
And we all want SOMEONE to blame!
Politicians locked in the spotlight,
Never seem to get it right.
How can they, when whate’re they choose
There is always someone who says they lose?
It is so easy to criticise,
‘Too slow’, ‘too soon’ and ‘full of lies’,
To say they should do that, or this,
And ‘This decision was remiss!!
‘Follow the science’, they say.
Different opinions, so which way?
Which science, what direction?
How do we fight off this infection?
Would YOU want to make decisions
And be the target of derisions?
No matter what you try to do,
Both Pack and Media will target you!
I’ve had my jab and – Surprise!
I still can’t go out and socialise
Even after number two,
Will I still be a threat to YOU?
Now that Brussels
Is flexing its muscles
When will we get our second jab,
Coming out of which Pharma lab?
In retirement we resent
The wasted time we could have spent
Doing the things we still can do,
But may not, when all this is through.
Aftershave and perfume lie neglected,
You CAN’T go out and get infected!
So now I’m feeling rather wan,
My ‘get up and go’ seems to have GONE!
Covid now has a new symptom to air
Not listed on the questionnaire.
Not cough, temperature or loss of smell –
It’s BOREDOM sending us to hell!
Now you’ve had your vaccination
You want to go on a vacation.
We want politicians to say
YES – take a summer holiday!
But those worried and concerned
Over what they usually earned,
Fight to keep themselves afloat
And hope they will not miss the boat!
To keep their house and feed their kids,
They feel their life is on the skids.
So many professions suffering and annoyed –
Hospitality, Arts and Self Employed.
Doctors, Nurses and staff in ICU
Front Line workers, Porters and Cleaners too,
Pressurised, exhausted and stressed,
No wonder many are depressed!
Emergency-, Shop staff and drivers it is true,
Also put THEIR lives on the line for YOU.
For all their fearless dedication,
They too deserve thanks and admiration.
Stuck at home with distance learning,
When being back at school they’re yearning
To see their teachers and their friends
On whom their future now depends.
Students facing their exams
Feel let down as all their plans
For the future appear to unravel,
Let alone some gap year travel!
I went into town today.
For six months I’d stayed away.
The high street was very cold and bare,
Not a lot of people anywhere!
When lockdown lifts in all our nations,
Shops take down their Xmas decorations,
Dispose of out of season goods and stocks,
And hope that then their custom flocks.
Many do just what they can,
Even if not within life’s plan.
Re-evaluate, adapt and re-skill
It’s amazing – the power of will.
Now Spring and Summer are in sight
Corona weakens in their light.
They say where there’s life there’s hope,
So keep plodding up that weary slope.
Covid can make you a fighter,
To try to make the future brighter.
It will make the weeks go fast,
And bring us closer to the end at last!
For years there’ll be more Covid variations
From many different global nations.
One day, when controlled by a single injection,
THEN we’ll have time for introspection!
© Pauline Rhodes February 2021