The Return

The Return! Echoes resonate - in vast empty streets Confining humans with apps and with tweets Papers flutter down dark hollow caverns Shops now closed - and so too the taverns Cats stroll their beats – midst mice and midst rats Street lights – besieged by midges and bats As greedy mankind no longer holds sway The animal world emerges to play Retaking the Earth – what an undreamt of day! ………. Streams now run clear – fish skip in delight Clear, clean blue skies – No pollution in sight With humans contained within locked-down cells Choirs now silent – and so too church bells Gone is the noise of foul exhaust smells Now all that’s heard are bird songs in dells That some men will die - this much is true But neither in cages – nor in the zoo And those that survive will be very few ………. With wildlife now free – and mankind now doomed Afraid to come out – by virus entombed With car batteries flat – men staying indoors No foot prints outside – just prints made by paws Observed with joy by a lone garden gnome Who silently shouts – stay at home, stay at home The Earth now improves – as masked men decline And the animals sing – now they will learn! You’ve had your chance – now it’s our turn! ……….