Easing Up

 

May 17th,
Twenty twenty one.
Some indoor meeting,
Is now back on!

A giant leap forward,
For England’s pandemic,
Slowly we’re crushing,
An unprecedented epidemic.

In a few days we can meet,
Up to  6 people indoors.
And to hug other households,
Will be illegal no more.

Uniform including masks,
Mandatory at high school,
Will be enforced no longer,
An old fashioned  rule.

Overnight stays,
Allowed once again,
In our local area,
We don’t have to remain.

And although care and caution,
We’ll need to employ,
New changes are bound,
To reenergise with joy

 

Not Dropped A Balll…..

I’m not normally a football stadium attendee,
In fact I’ve only been a couple of times – two, maybe three.
This time I went, not a ball was in sight,
My support today was for the COVID 19 fight.

I marvelled at the vaccination hub, so incredibly set up,
I’d say far worthier than football for a winners cup.
Swiftly I moved from check in to jab,
Efficient, organised and generally fab!

The wonders of science delivered through a quick sharp scratch,
From something so small, protection can hatch.
An incredibly great development, hopefully will end our isolation,
The race now on to vaccinate the nation.

Vaccination card in hand, I was quickly outside,
I took a moment to reflect and hope so many are filled with pride.
For what the NHS have done to support us all,
I’ll remember forever the football stadium trip, with no sight of a ball!

 

 

Thought of The Week – Even Impossible Says “I’m Possible”.


Having had more months than I care to count in lockdown, many of us have learned to do countless new things – be it from taking up a new hobby, to home schooling, to learning about the possibilities brought to us by technology. Ever the optimist, I’ve been reflecting on the benefits that have come from travelling uncharted waters and I’ve come to the conclusion that the silver lining of the last year is most of us have learned to do things in new, often simpler ways and to question our assumptions.  Through new experiences (forced on us though COVID 19 was!) we’ve learnt new skills, broadened our perspectives, and sometimes deepened our understanding of ourselves and those around us. So whilst back to normal is hopefully not too far around the corner, I’m resolved to keep the learning going.  This month I’ve been learning how to solve a Rubik’s cube. What it has reminded me is a simple motto that can be applied to all walks of life: eveything is possible with the right attitude and perseverance. 😀 

Lockdown Easing!

Optimism is in the air, whilst some feel easing is too sluggish,
The UK is divided about the lockdown easing recently published.
Four incremental steps, five weeks between each,
Irreversible being the aim, is what Borris set out in his speech.

For the economy especially, it’s another blow again;
Just schools and outdoor socialising at first spells a few more months of pain.
Yet an aim of 4 months until back to normal means we quickly pick up pace,
A public health concern as we’re still running the vaccine race.

Perhaps it’s too ambitious, but only time will tell,
What we unfortunately know is some people will still become unwell.
As we’ve seen throughout, it’s a fine tightrope to tred,
Balancing what we’d like like to do with the consequences we all dread.

Bright Spring

The juxtaposition of a bright sunny sky with snow on the floor,
The sun with its hats on, Jack Frost still knocking at the door.
A parallel perhaps with society’s fragility of today,
Still loosing too many, whilst a rescuing vaccination programme is well underway.

With days getting longer and spring on its way,
And the numbers of those vaccinated growing by day,
It won’t be too long until brighter times arrive,
And we’ll tell the story of how (amid losing too many), we managed to keep so many more alive.

My Best Friend, Hope.

Last year, I had the pleasure of writing a poem for an event , my specific brief being to write about friendship.  Heavily intertwined with the poem  I created were some reflections on hope and the power that can bring us.  In light of the COVID news we currently hear day in day out, this feeling of hope feels needed now more than ever, so I thought I’d share the work more widely.

 

Good friends come and sometimes go.
How long they’ll stay, you don’t always know.
Written as a book, life has friends for a chapter, and friends to the end.
Perhaps only fate knows the reason for each friend.

At first you might wonder who will stay and who will go.
But in spite of the timespan, true friends are easy to know.
They’re the ones who help you weather all storms.
Love you unconditionally, in so many forms.

People who accept you, even when the going gets tough.
You might see them often, or maybe not enough.
Honest and don’t judge, or make you feel small.
Always find time for you, even if just a quick call. 

People are great, but complete dependence can be unwise.
Life is so fragile, you don’t know what may arise.
For that very reason, and I’ve learned the hard way,
Self reliance allows true freedom, come what may.

Learn to love yourself, trust yourself and ALWAYS have hope.
Then whatever life delivers, somehow you’ll cope.
Friends can be there to help and lend a hand.
But on your own two feet, with hope you must stand.

Hope is always within you, albeit can go awry.
But if you dig deep,it can push you to try.
By kindling hope, there’s a positive possibility in sight.
Motivating you through, whatever the plight.

So three cheers for Hope! My invisible very best friend.
To help conquer adversity, on you I depend!
People can’t see you, you live in my mind.
But thanks goodness you’re there, and our lives are entwined.

 

Lockdown Learning Report Card

Timetable delivered online, pupils join us at home to ‘school’ via tech,
Lessons for my son delivered through interactive presentation decks.
Organised so well, an appearance of effortless transition,
But it must have taken so much, to get to this position.

The effort and command of the teachers, I wouldn’t ordinarily have seen first hand,
I’m so impressed how well they’ve made virtual learning land.
Lessons I once had, I see again from afar,
As I pop my head round the door to ask how lessons are.

So just a little thanks to schools, for making good of a situation so bad,
And for the new skills pupils are learning from the experience we’ve all had.
Be it time management of their day, online working, or interacting on video,
They’ve learned new things, we thought these new ‘mini adults’ needed not yet know.

 

 

 

 

Christmas Eve

Struggling to conceive it’s already Christmas Eve?
Amid Brexit and Covid news, it seems almost lost, I believe.
Stuck with Zoom (from the same room), the festive buzz is hugely reduced,
As we see only through cameras rooms so festively spruced.

Curtailed Christmas gatherings will go down in history this year,
But a small cost to limit virus spreading and associated fears.
I really hope people will choose to be merry not sad,
And take stock of the blessings after the year we’ve all had.

Many people may hope stockings will be filled with thoughtful gifts,
May we too receive renewed resilience to face regulations as they shift.
Christmas is about miracles, new beginnings and good will,
A nice sentiment to remember as we’ve all been through the mill.

So Merry Christmas to those reading, far flung though you may be,
Written Right’s poems are a new off shoot this year for me.
But like many I can’t wait to discover what 2021 has in store,
When hopefully some sort of normality can be restored.

Christmas Publication

Such an honour to feature on the cover of Give’s Christmas publication. In my book (pardon the pun!), it’s a very worthy cause which I love supporting. If you haven’t see their work, you can visit their website here.

 

Lockdown Day 25

 


The end of November and soon my lockdown poems will fold,
They’ve brightened a few people’s days, so I’ve been told.
It’s been nice to have documented the turns and the twists,
As things have changed as the virus persists.

We’ve recorded some history of how it has been,
Documented the news and what we have seen.
I hope it soon ends and something like our normal lives resumes,
And that a brighter 2021 on the horizon looms.

But for now at least, my lockdown poems will cease,
I have one or two other projects tucked up my sleeve.
So I’ll be back very soon with an exciting little twist,
I’m quite excited about the next project on the list.