A Hellish Thought?

We realise, now we can't go out,
What our lives are all about
We miss our family and friends
And all the special time one spends

Sharing time and anecdote
These actions keep our dreams afloat
We feel stronger when we share
Knowing that our friends are near.

But now this virus, minuscule
Has banished all the kids from school;
We understand this word 'confined'
And it plays havoc with our mind.

Our frailty is manifest
To keep safe we stay in our nest
While birds soon fledge and roam the skies
Cheering us with joyful cries ...

They've no constraints, they travel light
Oblivious to human plight
While people, faced with fewer choices,
Listen to their inner voices...

Huge wake-up call – and no mistake
Pollution puts our lives at stake
First the planet, now ourselves:
«L'Enfer, c'est les Autres»* – Sartre tells ...

(c) Poet in the woods 2020



* Existentialist play "Huis Clos" by Jean-Paul Sartre (1944)
Known as "In Camera" in the English version.