Covid Caledonia by Hazel Beattie
A crisp carpet of colours crunches under heavy feet
Russets and golds swooping in circles around bobble hatted heads
A new season arrives but brings no change for the better, just bitter.
Bitter cold, bitter people.
No more quizzes, just quizzical faces trying to face the future
Panes of glass separating generations with a pain that cuts deep
Empty chairs and empty tables, not just for the miserable
Staging protests for silent stages and masking the pain
Summer came and went with no Fringe benefits
No juggling the crowds, no crowds for the juggler
Scores of empty rooms replace scores of dancing dots
A measure of poor Auld Reekie’s unwanted rest
Positive. A terrifying word, but there was positive.
Released by our captivity we changed our habitat habits
Cleared our heads by clearing space in rooms and hearts
Parking our fears was a walk in the park
Cubes of community made us cackle and cry
Faces of the past we had forgotten why we had forgotten
We danced in our kitchens, froze with funny faces
Has it taken death to make us live?
Uncertainty is certain but we can pass this test
Isolating not our minds but reaching out for contact
Tracing the outline of the outbreak of a new community
Fairfaw this Covid Caledonia