In Times Like These
In times like these, where I live,
Days are rising in exuberance of spring
Blossoming season’s scented revelry
As hatchlings are chirping jovial music,
Yet, the news dominates COVID-Nineteen:
A world trapped in grip of quarantine.
Silence of the streets speaks loudly
For countless lives interrupted suddenly,
Muted voices aching helplessly
Suspending travel, shuttering businesses,
Closing schools, libraries, offices,
Facing spectacular market crashes;
Re-living images of jobless people
Lining up at food-banks, charities,
Filing claims for unemployment benefits.
Crushing footage of world powerless,
Flashes daily like science-fiction movies--
Mighty nations brought to knees
Invaded by a microscopic enemy
Way more powerful than any army,
Killing populations indiscriminately.
Normal has become social distancing,
Covering faces in public places,
Hugging grandkids on facetime remotely,
Saying words of prayer, reassuring--
Sounding the same in every language
Regardless of one’s religion or faith
As strangers cry for those seeking help
In corridors of crowded hospital beds
Where bawl of fear spurs echoes of death.
Life will be different in a changed world
As I think of the future yet unknown,
But I feel assured there will be a cure;
Force of despair may haunt endlessly
Yet, goodwill of hope will remain eternal.
In times like these, where I live,
I let spring pass-by for visions of summer
And sanguine meadows of opulent autumn,
Mindful, even when tears stop flowing,
Pain of this disease will linger long after.
May 6, 2020
Placed 1st: In times like these poetry contest
Sponsor: Silent One
Copyright © Vijay Pandit | Year Posted 2020
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