Opening the Door

Opening the Door

Just a crack, and the light comes in:

The door opens, sunlight on the skin,

And outside, breath the fresh air at last;

Remember freedom, in the near past,

In reasonable safety, go for a walk,

Or meet friends, and sing or talk;

But there are no songs in this land:

I walk down by the beach, on sand,

And hear the waves break on the shore,

The gull cries overhead, and I saw

Through the looking glass, the same

At a glance, but where a virus came

And stole our voices, took them away:

The fable of the Little Mermaid is today;

And we cannot sing in this new world,

Where death came his banner unfurled,

And rode across our fields and tracks,

Cutting down, just like a sharpened axe,

As many fell ill and died, and we part:

The silent lamentation of broken heart,

Until the door opens, but all is strange:

Transubstantiated by a malign change,

Where the visitor could carry unknown

The virus; and there is no safety zone;

A brave new world, a darker time:

Midnight: and the bells now chime;

A dark time, by the moon’s pale light;

Across the houses, the virus is a blight;

These are our dark ages, come to stay:

And all is sorrow, lament to pray,

And wait until the long exile ends,

And a world of sorrow slowly mends.