It frightens me how quickly we’ve got used
To this. It hasn’t even been a week.
Remember getting angry at the news
But in the abstract? Now, it’s all so bleak
And personal: they’re talking about us.
Restricted movement, shortages, more deaths…
Remember when just getting on a bus
Was normal? Now, we’re scared to take a breath
In case we cough in public. And we dance
Around each other, trying to keep the space
Between us big enough. We take no chances.
It’s strange, these days, to not cover your face.
How long is this new order going to last?
And how we accept it all so fast?
Tom Juniper Poetry 