Covid
Covid
The Covid lockdown months gave me plenty of time and opportunity to contemplate the isolation it brought to the whole world. I began exploring my own frustrations and fears as I was simultaneously hitting my stride poetically. While I continued writing poems based on Rev. Neusom Holmes’ sermons, my Covid poems often came to me in the middle of the night or other odd times quite out of the blue. I learned that, when I felt a poem coming on, I needed to write at least the beginning of it at that moment or it would be lost forever.
Normalcy *Covid, normalcy, gratitude
Normalcy is a word from the past.
It is the simple, mundane but beautiful condition
that is so distant from my life today.
I wish to see a time when my life will resume its former plodding state
because now I crave plodding normalcy above all things.
I have discovered a fresh perspective on the beauty of simplicity and gratitude
for what it will someday bring my soul.
--July 2020
Boredom *Covid, boredom, consciousness, enlightenment
Boredom is light energy gone awry.
Instead of laser-focusing on a situation, object or thought,
boredom scatters the energy of intention
into the random universe of neutrality.
Even the best of intentions tend to be rudely shoved aside
so that boredom can make us victims of our own lethargy.
Getting rid of boredom is like trying to push a cow out of the road.
Without the proper inducement, the cow will do whatever she wants.
The trick is to look at it from the cow’s perspective
and show her the lush green grass on the other side of the road.
Boredom won’t budge from our consciousness
until we free our spirits to search for different ways of thinking
and new horizons to reach for.
We need to explore those new horizons
to detect the lush green grass our souls need to nourish them.
Only then can we emerge from our chrysalis of boredom
as the more enlightened, renewed Beings of Light we were meant to be.
--August 2020
- - -
Imagine a World Without Masks *Covid, control
Imagine a world without masks, without social distancing, without fear of contact.
Imagine a world with crowded airports, restaurants and festivals.
They all seem so quaint now, so far into a distant past.
Television shows used to have a feel of reality about them, but no more.
It is actually painful to see life as it used to be casually paraded on the screen,
suspecting that it may never be like that again.
We are constantly reminded of our new normal—
alone in our homes, avoiding neighbors on walks, ordering our groceries by phone.
It is impossible to imagine what our new reality will be
in a world now obsessed with gleaming sterility.
Masks used to be reserved for hospitals and Halloween;
now they are ubiquitous and obligatory.
“I protect you, you protect me” is the new mantra
and it all happened overnight.
Nothing could have prepared us for this new world of fear,
when we are afraid of hugging our family and friends
and avoiding passing strangers.
We have been thrown into a world where introspection is required
and solitude is expected.
Our lifelines consist of electronic contacts and virtual hugs,
retreating into our inch-square Zoom boxes
where we can only interact with disembodied, one dimensional faces.
These are not normal times and never will be.
We no longer have control over our lives or our futures,
and this runs counter to our ordered existence.
Our souls scream for the sweetness of personal contact
and the ability to return to our previous lives.
They wonder what our new world will look like
with its new-found obsession with cleanliness and solitude.
How will our children grow up
without going through the rituals
of school friendships, education and experiences?
How much longer will we have to make a choice
between exchanging cabin fever with the kind of fever
that could send us into a world of induced comas and ventilators?
It is not for us to know, only experience the life we have been thrust into,
forced to live in the moment
while we treasure fleeting memories of our past, unappreciated freedoms.
The Universe is totally in control of our lives
and we can only achieve peace if we submit to this reality
and learn to appreciate each precious moment.
We can be grateful that we have our memories of How It Used To Be
while knowing that we are now creating our new future as a world united as never before.
A tiny virus has achieved something raw power and might has never been able to accomplish.
It has captured the full attention of all people, their governments and institutions.
It has re-ordered our lives, our futures, our very existence.
It has brought humanity to its knees
without any indication of when it will submit
to the juggernaut of human technical expertise.
But it WILL be tamed if not conquered.
The human spirit cannot be suppressed forever
and it WILL survive to face future challenges
and adapt to changing realities.
We can only trust that our new lives will be structured
around cleaner environments, sanitized relationships
and a new expectation for a “normal”
that is better than the one we left behind.
That is the shining light that we must follow into a more stable future
when we can feel more in control.
Because control over our own lives is, after all,
the thing that we crave the most.
--August 2020
- - -
What Do You Do? *Covid, core beliefs, intention
What do you do when you don’t have enough to do?
You watch your world melt away
to reveal what’s really important.
The layers of our lives that used to sustain us
are no longer attached
and are draining our essential energy.
Instead we are left with our core beliefs, goals and intentions.
We learn new truths about ourselves,
all laid out to dry in the harsh sunlight of present reality.
How we accept these new revelations and build upon them
is our new mission in life.
They are our primordial clay from which we can emerge
as shining new works of art designed to become beacons for others to follow.
--August 2020
- - -
Clarity *Covid, clarity, happiness
Clarity arises by recognizing our limiting habits
developed over our lifetimes,
embedded in our personalities,
imprinted with our parents’ expectations.
Once we recognize these limitations and accept them
we can find out who we really are
and our spirits can begin to heal our souls.
We can also take this time of reflection
to discover that we have always had what we needed to achieve happiness.
We just lacked the clarity of our current isolation
to spark our connection with Spirit.
--September 2020
- - -
My Corona Virus Lament *Covid, fear, regret
Corona virus meets us,
relentlessly it greets us
and sometimes it defeats us
as we fight it day-to-day.
Now everyone must watch out
for aerosols that shoot out
from an inadvertent shout out
that sends droplets in their way.
I need to “social distance”
in spite of my resistance
to society’s insistence
that I lock myself away.
My universe is spinning
as Corona keeps on winning
but I sense a new beginning
with vaccines to save the day.
And now it’s been a year
that we’ve seen such massive fear,
but finally it seems clear
that relief is in on its way.
We don’t know how it ends—
all we can do is make amends
for repelling all our friends
and staying home all day.
A new world now awaits.
When it comes, relies on fates
and infections’ lowered rates
as the virus goes away.
We’ll recall this troubled time
through memory and rhyme,
and regret so sublime
for lost lives and time to play.
--November 2020
- - -
The Eyes Above the Mask *Covid, consciousness, freedom
What are they seeing, the eyes above the mask?
Is it the world they expected or a new version?
We can’t know what thoughts they are expressing,
wishes they are sending,
emotions they are hiding.
We can only see the dark irises flashing or softening,
like fireflies in the summer sky.
Those eyes can be ours, or our friend’s or a stranger’s.
It doesn’t matter because they are windows
into the universal consciousness,
connecting us all to a shared, global experience.
They let in the light and project the warmth of the human spirit
that cannot be dampened for long.
They project the frustration of many
to the confinement imposed upon their owners.
In hospitals, they are the animating but gentle force
behind bulky protective gear.
In public places they are wary guardians
of vague threats to health and safety.
They see all that is happening to protect our world,
one person at a time.
They are the icons we will most remember in future years
when the threat is gone, the virus has been contained,
and we can all emerge into a new world of mask-less freedom.
--December 2020
- - -
Our Mourning Cry *Covid, isolation, pain, life
We recognize the shortness of life
and remember our departed 500,000
as well as all those before them who died
because of our country’s callous disregard for their suffering.
We now know that their pain is our pain,
their loss our loss and that we can only achieve peace
by bringing the survivors our comfort, love and support.
Our year of isolation has shown us
that we know what it takes
to become the beacon on the hill
that will lead everyone into a better world.
We are prepared to love and cherish all who remain,
to nurture their Divine spark
and watch love expand exponentially,
knowing that each moment has value
to ourselves, humanity and the Universe.
--February 2021
- - -
The Ocean Rules *Covid, flexibility, suffering, consciousness
Flexibility was missing from Western thought.
It was all about what egos had found.
Then the Covid shut-down, that was never sought
turned everyone’s lives upside down.
The suffering touched everyone under the sun
and forced us all to stay home.
We were forced to act like we were all One,
connected like the ocean waves’ foam.
The ocean really doesn’t care
about a single wave.
It only knows to strip the land bare
without worrying what it can save.
Our consciousness flows like the waves on that sea,
in God’s timeless dance of life.
Like the ocean, we’re connected, only needing to BE
in order to transcend our lives’ strife.
--May 2021
- - -
The Gifts of Covid *Covid, connection, compassion
Silence and connection have merged into one.
We accepted isolation although it wasn’t fun.
It deepened our compassion for the people of our world
since we were all suffering together with our souls unfurled.
We all cried for each other in our isolated space
and became more than single units as we joined the human race.
Yes, deep time allowed our spirits to bond and soar on high
and our egos’ need for winning was left behind to die.
Now that Covid’s over we will see what time will tell.
Will we fall back to our old ways or rise above that hell?
--June 2021
- - -
August Lament *Covid, normalcy, life
Go away, Delta V!
I don’t like what you’re doing to me!
I won’t let you in but you should be gone
and my life is supposed to be moving on.
Now it’s back to masks we need to go—
the infections are up and we just don’t know
when the world will creep back into normalcy
and we all can live with unrestrained glee.
--August 2021
- - -
Covid Fatigue *Covid, balance, control
Our Covid fatigue has a reason
beyond our desire to move on.
Life’s balance is out of season
and the chaos that’s ruled isn’t gone.
We crave the balance we used to know
and the sense of control we had.
But the world is forcing us to grow
and we should not see that as all bad.
By changing our minds to see some good
that has come from these months of pain,
we know there’s no reason to think we should
dwell on the misery we disdain.
Instead we should see the things we share,
with all our hearts beating as one.
We can’t allow Covid to be the scare
that means our humanity’s done.
--August 2021
- - -
One Day at a Time *Covid, fear
We’re back to living one day at a time,
each day’s revelations confirm.
The effect on our psyche is more than sublime—
it’s an earthquake that makes us all squirm.
Our fear and anger need to be expressed
rather than bottled inside.
We cannot resist—just feel we are blessed
with more time to hear our inner guide.
--August 2021
- - -
Jab Number Three *Covid, protection
I just got jab number three
to protect myself from Delta V.
I did it to shield
others and not yield
to the new variants there are sure to be.
We all want this nightmare to end
so we can stop having to bend
our lives to embrace
living only in place
until we can do things with our friends.
—August 2021
- - -
Infection’s Deflection *Covid, forgiveness, gratitude
Let’s reject our infection
with no predilection.
We’ve been angry on the inside
for this way-too-long virus ride.
We’re sorry that it caused such pain
while showing so little to gain.
Our virus obsession
led to societal depression.
It’s time to forgive
so we can once again live.
Our brand new intention
is to discard our retention.
Our release will bring gratitude
and let love be our attitude.
--January 2022
- - -
Mask in my Pocket *Covid, diversity, expectation
I have a mask in my pocket every time I go outside.
That’s no matter where I’m going even only for a ride.
My routine is established now for everywhere I go—
my mask is automatic and no longer just for show.
I know it’s to protect me from the Covid virus threat
that lurks in public places and seems permanently set.
I mask all those expressions that I am fond to show
that demonstrate approval or tell someone where to go.
I miss my smiles to checkers in the supermarket line
and showing other shoppers that everything is fine.
No one knows if I am happy or having a bad day—
I can hide behind my mask until my bad mood goes away.
Some masks are bright and cheery and others drab and plain.
When that’s all you see of faces there’s no reason to complain.
But I miss all those expressions that provide diversity
to my forays into public where my shopping needs to be.
My people-watching habit has been sidelined for awhile.
Now I’m full of expectation it will come back into style.
I long for olden times when the mask was not employed
and we didn’t think that strangers might be who we should avoid.
--Betsy Lambert, January 2022
- - -