2020: A Year in a Life
We have all heard that COVID has a silver lining
It’s reminded us of all our self-centred whining
That has filled our internet blogs and Twitter
With umpteen ways of getting slimmer and fitter
Just eat meat and salt and drink filtered water
No, eat grains - the paleo the better
Or give up wine and spirits and beer
And get on that bicycle in your lycra gear
And women who have reached a certain age
Don’t let your cheeks look like baggage
Book that trip to Thailand, but don’t let on
Your friends will be too polite to say you look – drawn
Yes, life before COVID was serious business
So much of it was a modern version of Narcissus
Who gazed in the mirror and liked what he saw
And wished it could remain forever without flaw
But then suddenly the bush was on fire
Green turned black and it got drier and drier
Birds fell from the sky and animals burned
People lost lives and something had turned
We no longer lived in a fool’s paradise
And political finger pointing did not suffice
To bring home the message loud and clear
We only had ourselves to fear
Our preoccupations with the life beautiful
And our disregard for the wise and dutiful
Among us who cautioned that better bush care
Would reduce the fires and smoke-filled air
And then when everything turned calm
We woke up to a new COVID dawn
What seemed a variant of the common cold
Was like the Assyrians coming down on the fold
Killing all the old and infirm in its path
Like a Biblical reckoning of God’s wrath
Was it punishment for our inward gaze?
Or an opportunity to change our ways?
Perhaps it’s both, and we are free to choose
Whether to plan our summer holiday cruise
Or stay home and help the local economy
And delight in our home-grown gastronomy
But social distancing has had its cost
And the messages do sometimes get crossed
Keep a metre and half away from each other
But close enough to visit your grandmother
Who’s on the other side of the glass
In an aged care home that used to have class
But today is struggling to keep COVID out
And the residents healthy and free to walk about
We’ve seen things in our society we never knew
How COVID struck the incautious few
But front-line workers with compassion and heft
Helped the vulnerable with little strength left
But they too were struck down
In their masks and surgical gown
So much dedication on show
This COVID year is what I know
It’s not all been a tragedy
To be reminded of our humanity
Of our hope and our love of life
In the midst of overwhelming strife
The most important message is not to be brave
Not to be courageous, a hero or a slave
It is to never lose sight of our ability to love
And transform our world with hope from above
Not God’s strong hand and an outstretched arm
To rescue us from the flood of pandemic harm
But faith in the tradition has taught us this
That the purpose of life is not Bliss
It is not to be slim and pretty and rich
Nor life going smoothly without a hitch
But just when you think you deserve more
Do an act of kindness you’ve never done before
Don’t wait for the accolades you want to hear
Give them to others who are near
We are all in our own state of lockdown
Step out of yours, wipe off the frown
Yes, COVID has ravaged the scorched earth
And of hard times there’ll be no dearth
But we are resilient and good-willed and true
That’s what I think of me and of you
So be of good cheer and don’t fall prey
To evil conspiracies -- that venal trait
But to the call that whispers your name
For you to answer, hineni, here I am.
Rachael