The streets are empty when a blink ago were full.
The buses running with no passengers are just the ticket for wasting fuel.
The beggars have nobody to beg to
or have a two-metre vaudevillian wooden arm out if they do.
The local drunk shouts out to walled-in deaf ears
You’ll die of the virus! I’ll die of alcoholism! as he holds his bottle of beer.
Supermarkets are still open to shoppers in their cellophane masks
who weigh themselves on the scales and stick the prices on their arse.
Dogs are a new leash of life to get out the house for a stroll
as owners, tongues hanging out, jump with excitement as police patrol.
You can’t go out unless absolutely necessary or you’re in the doghouse
as helicopters above make sure anyone below looks like a mouse.
Statistics is the new board game and quiz show everyone’s glued to on their sets
As hospitals have stress shooting off the graphs in their attempts to offset
the sad, inevitable truth that people, cut off from their loved ones, are dying
and funerals can’t even be had for any god’s want of trying.
Published by aprettykettleofpoetry
I was born in Oxford but grew up in Devon. Then I moved to Italy at 28 where, to cut a long story short, I’ve been teaching English. I’ve lived in Cagliari, Sardinia since 1995.
For writing, I’ve been influenced by poets such as Phillip Larkin and WB Yeats and a great deal by music – loved it all my life – especially lyrics. I got a book of illustrated Beatles lyrics at 18 and that got me thinking to illustrate every poem I wrote. I liked that extra ingredient of something visual. I don’t consider myself an artist so doing collages with paper, scissors and glue was a great way to cheat a bit! Sometimes I illustrate poems with photos, or drawings and watercolours, and recently a few oil paintings which is very dfficult! I’ve had exhibitions of my collages which has been an added bonus. First and foremost I like writing. Everything comes from that. Now and again, I think about getting published, and then other things take over! I have written songs with Chicco Fresu too which appear now and again on this blog with the poem.
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