Lockdown

Lockdown, shutdown, shops are closing all around; Feel down, melt down, In the High Street ... little sound. Hospitals filling, R numbers rising, Testing and tracing, Venues downsizing. Isolating, shielding, The vulnerable, sealed in, Masks at the ready, Screens fitted and steady. People are furloughed, government loans; Keep safe the advice... start working from home, A virtual world, Just a screen and a phone. At home we are zooming, The Ethernet booming, Business is struggling As we do less consuming. Creating new ways of meeting, Connecting, Aware of the people solitude is affecting, Shielding the elderly, vulnerable protecting, Cleaning hands and surfaces, More disinfecting. One hour of walking of course is allowed, At distance or bubbles but not in a crowd, Singing permitted but not very loud, Passing people at distance ... 2 metres proud. In this madness, this lockdown Something is new, There’s a new kind of quietness, a new kind of hue, Not so much going on and less we can do, But we can breathe through this madness to help us get through. We value more each connection, Humanity, affection, Times of quiet reflection, on life and human protection. A human kindness has begun to emerge, From this disease, this plague this terrible scourge. Lockdown, Shutdown, Breakdown, Meltdown, Calm down, Slow down, Breathe the air all around, Hear your heartbeat, Hear that sound, Our human connection, The answer that COVID has found.