I  am asymptomatic. At least I
Assume I am. I’ve been around someone
Who’s had covid 19. And that is why
I’m trying not to pass the virus on.

I don’t know if I have it to pass on
Perhaps I don’t, and I’m overreacting
Perhaps I had the thing, and now it’s gone
I go out, and don’t know whom I’m impacting.

Trying to get this right is so exacting:
Should I get back to work, or just stay here?
Adhering to the rules would be distracting
Enough, with this ever present fear

That somehow, I am making all this worse:
Schroedinger’s vector. My uncertain curse

(with acknowledgements to Jenni Pascoe, from whom I stole the last line.)

This is the summer of our hibernation
Of waiting, and of hiding from the world
As lockdown ends we feel ourselves awaken
As we’ve been resting, something has unfurled.

It isn’t over yet. We’re all still waiting
To know when it will be safe to emerge.
But we’ve been hoping, dreaming and creating.
And now we’re feeling ready for the surge.

While we’ve been quiet something has been changing.
We’ve lost so much. It’s time for something new
The things we saw as fixed are rearranging.
Already, we know what we have to do.

As well as tears, there’s purpose in our eyes:
From chrysalises, butterflies will rise.

“How dare they protest? It’s not safe you know
I just don’t think that it’s responsible!
People could die! Covid will bring them low!
Such lack of foresight’s reprehensible!”

If you fear for your life each traffic stop
If every single day, all that you see
Is someone else like you dying by cop,
How frightening can any virus be?

And if, for you, that danger isn’t real,
And this pandemic’s filling you with fear
Of dying early, think how it must feel
To have been living with that dread for years.

Our governments have done far more to kill
Black people than this virus ever will.

(Inspired by the wonderful Mona Eltahawy.)

They say they’re easing lockdown because we
“Need to get back to normal” As if this,
Was somehow a good thing, inherently.
As if “normal” is something we all miss.

But normal was police brutality
And normal was state and domestic violence
And normal was wage inequality
And normal was accepting that in silence.

Normal was all your benefits being cut
Normal was rent too high and wage too low.
Normal was when the libraries all shut.
Fuck normal. Normal has to fucking go.

The normal that we had before won’t do.
It’s broke. Don’t fix it. Let’s make something new.

Lockdown is easing. My anxiety
Is not. Lockdown unlocking feels too fast.
I’m feeling like somebody died and we
Are acting like they didn’t. There’s this vast

Number of deaths but now it has become
A number only. A statistic. There’s
This deep relief when it gets lower, some
Assurance. Things are better. But then, where’s

The grief? People have died. We should have had
Some kind of ceremony, but instead
We keep on keeping on. I think it’s bad
That we are not remembering the dead.

But we cannot start grieving yet. And why?
We know that there’s more people who will die.

I’ve found myself agreeing with Piers Morgan
In recent weeks. I never thought I’d see
The day. And with that famous left wing organ
The Daily Mail. What’s happening to me?

But all this is as nought. I feel light headed
This new development is just not on!
The day has come I never knew I dreaded:
I’ve just agreed with Rev. Pat Robertson.

As if this virus wasn’t terrifying
Enough, reality has crashed as well.
A flock of Gloucester Old Spots just went flying
Right past my window. There is snow in hell.

You know what’s really filling me with fear?
We’re only half way through the fucking year.

Celebrities made videos to tell
Us how Coronavirus is as bad
For them as anyone. A living hell!
They washed their hands in mansions. Never had

They understood the little people so:
“We’re all at risk! Regardless of our race,
Or status, we’re all equal now, you know!”
A stirring sentiment, although misplaced.

If you are poor, and if you are not white
Your chances of surviving this are less.
Disparities aren’t something we can fight
By claiming that we’re all in the same mess.

Pandemics never even up the score.
They simply emphasize injustice more.

We have the highest Covid-19 rates
In Europe. And we’re easing lockdown. Fine…
No, that makes total sense. Why would we wait?
Wow. As a nation, it’s our time to shine.

Our government’s been great, I really must
Admit. Such clear advice, so well thought out.
Such good examples to the rest of us
As well! And if we were in any doubt,

Just look! They’ve all gone back to work today!
We knew they’d know exactly what to do:
Hold votes online? Like foreigners? No way.
There’s nothing quite as British as a queue!

#MoggConga? I think this is where I break.
For fuck’s – and really, I must stress this – sake!

“We need to show our solidarity
With our vital health workers, and be seen
To be good allies! After all it’s we
Who get them to their jobs! We’re very keen

To show support. But not for too much money.
The lockdown’s left us feeling rather sore.
The NHS has rainbows now. It’s funny…
I feel like I’ve seen that somewhere before…

The Gay Pride bus! We’ll reappropriate it
To celebrate the NHS! No cost!
The LGBT lot are going to hate it
But they’ll have to admit, this time they’ve lost.”

Oh NHS, we stand alongside you:
Now rainbows mean lip-service for you, too!

Dominic went up to Durham and back
I don’t understand why you’re making a fuss.
And why the poor fellow is under attack:
Though it’s one rule for you, it’s another for us.

Rachel’s been down on the family farm.
Though she has spent some time up in Notting Hill, too.
I really don’t see why this causes alarm
When it’s one rule for us and another for you.

We’re all in this together. All in the same boat.
For this virus makes no such distinctions of rank.
But there’s two types of people: our sort always floats
But we’ll clap every week while you plebs walk the plank.

It has always been thus, so I really don’t see
Why you’re angry with Dominic, Rachel and me.