A soldier tired of war

Lies on a cardboard mattress

Atop a stone bed.

A frightened girl

Sits thinly in her room

Behind a locked door.

A young woman tied to a hospital bed

Listens to the drum of her blood

In the cell of her head

A tired old man

Is woken in the night

By the shaking of his body

What if your lockdown had no end?

What if this was your new reality?

Where would you find beauty?

Would you find solace in ceaseless chatter?

Seek comfort in keeping busy

And endless repeats of your favourite shows?

Or

Would you sit in a dark cave,

Pay attention to the bones of your ancestors,

Find the stories in their arrangement?

Would you dream your animal self,

Paint it upon a wall

And pray to the weather beings for kindness?

Could you blow out the candle,

Sit alone for…