The Cure

We are living in a time which shall become folklore.

Retelling this point in history to our grandkids shall, to us, never be a bore.

To think our ears used to perk up at the sound of those three syllables,

we’d order them and add a slice of lime to the bubbles.

Time has slowed from a march to a dreary existential film score.

Why don’t I get the feeling we’ve been here before?

We’ve heralded the dawn when it’s aspirational to be a loner.

It’s jolly challenging, molto difficile, nicht ohne.

We’re in a scenario which just weeks ago sounded absurd,

a world problem not classed by first, second or third,

and which won’t be tackled en masse by flocking in a herd.

It’s a test of our mettle and a strain on our kettles

to wait indefinitely for the dust to settle.

Do we have stored within us the same altruism

as the residents of Eyam, making their plague village a prison?

We cannot be sure what else lies in store,

shall we enjoy mass gatherings never more?

Who could have predicted we would revel in

undertaking mundane household chores?

How much time shall pass until the sound of a cough

doesn’t make us jump or scurry off

to our domestic sanctuary?

Or until a sneeze doesn’t give rise

to a lump in our throats, making us ultra-wary

as a grandfather dotes

on his grandchild and must not second-guess

if showing tenderness

could be a knock at death’s door?

How much longer will this go on for?

How long will we financially be feeling the clinch?

Well that non-expert says wrapping this up by Easter will be a cinch.

I can’t deny having constantly refreshed the internet newsreel,

wanting to be the first to pounce on the article which revealed

this was the most ramped-up and high-stakes April Fool joke ever,

during which we all came together

in socially conscious strands,

though not once with the shake of a hand.

Let’s imagine, or even sing the John Lennon song out loud,

if concerts and football matches are eventually once more allowed:

will we have still maintained that fervently-made vow

to never again take for granted the company of here and now?

How long till the gratitude bubble bursts and we once more start to groan

about how we never get to spend any time at home?

In times when good cheer is harder to procure,

we’ll have to use laughter as a makeshift cure.

It won’t banish infection, but it’s a distraction, sure.

We’ll just have to look forward to normal for one day more.

For now, it’s gone out of fashion, but as we’ve seen before,

trends always make a comeback, and staples do endure.

And through trial and error, through much endeavour,

remember and cling to the fact that it won’t be forever.

That, ladies and gentleman, signore e signori,

mesdames et messieurs, at least for now, is the cure.