We are living in such strange times at the moment! I haven't had time to update my blog recently, but here's a poem I've written inspired by recent events. I hope people like it and find it helpful:

What I Shall Always Remember

That impossibly clear, blue sky,
not a plane to be seen anywhere,
roads you could walk down,
devoid of the choking influence of cars

How the neighbours left their rooms
and rediscovered the beauty of being outside,
chalked artwork on garden walls,
playing music in the sunshine,
rainbow pictures in the windows

How we shared half-smiles
and offered, from a distance,
assistance to people we’d never
bothered speaking to before

How we learned to put
our own needs behind
the health and welfare
of others, how we cheered
those who kept everything
going – doctors, nurses,
care workers, bin collectors,
teachers, shopkeepers,

How, suddenly,
the world stopped,
became smaller,
turned inward,
causing us to rethink
and reflect upon
the things that really
mattered, how a wardrobe
full of fine clothes became
superfluous, how
toilet rolls, pasta and soap
became valuable commodities

How quickly we learned
the difference between
‘want’ and ‘need’,
and how disease
refuses to discriminate
between rich and poor,
How plush hotels
flung open their doors
to the homeless

How the churches
closed, and for
the first time, we
prayed like we really
meant it, and God
left the building
and hit the streets

And we fell to our knees
and got on with
the sacred task
of serving
one another.

By Rebecca Lowe, 27 March 2020