Lazarus in Lockdown

This poem was prompted both by the lockdowns across the world, and in particular affecting people I know and care about in the UK, but also drawing on the story of Lazarus in the tomb, taking the psychological way in how a lockdown feels a little like being closed off from the world we know and love. We too in Jersey may soon be in a 2nd lockdown.

Lazarus in Lockdown

The darkness, the closed door
Lockdown: the sleep of time
Memories of the distant shore
Summer: rosemary and thyme

Now: the sickness unto death
One by one, lights going out
The last amen, the final breath
Faith now plagued with doubt

Time passes, the endless days
Enshrouded in a small space
The fading of the sun’s rays
Not to see again another face

Roll back the stone, all is bright
Called forth, blinking, into light