My fingers achingly Trace a path in the air Imagining your fingertips Touching tentatively A fleeting apparition No longer there. So inconsequentially it began Yet another far off disease Affecting others overseas Drowned out by incessant noise Dismissed by the humdrum of every day living A second thought not given. But slowly it took over lives Incessantly the news focused on the pandemic The growing horror overseas A drumbeat growing louder and louder The spectre of death Harder to ignore Finally capturing our imagination. And then suddenly it was upon us Our politicians fumbling and stumbling Posturing and prevaricating Ignoring the playbook of epidemics Putting off the hard decisions Consigning our fate Because of the lack of balls. In the face of divided opinion We did what we did best With false feelings of invincibility We carried on as we had Oblivious to the facts Living the lie of wishful thinking And so a new regime finally began One of working from home With great uncertainty of the future Livelihoods shattered in an instant Now playing at social isolation Against a silent killer One that wore no mask at all. A temperature was how it started Another man flu we hoped and prayed But after day three the truth was out, it turned Breathing more laboured A constant fever soared Coughing fits became the norm. I don't recall how I got here In ICU Alone and away from all I love and care Sedated I drift in and out of sleep And for the last time In my mind I trace your fingers in the air...
The Spoken Word 