For the people of Victoria and those still in Lockdown

 

Cocooned

 

Isolation

Is the term they use

Dressed up

To sell it as a positive

Which it is, of course

Yet being alone

Has never felt so lonely

As it's legally binding

With no end in sight.

 

Allowed out for essential services

Food and exercise

Like in a prison yard

Then it's back to the space Within

The echo chamber

Of our silence.

 

It can be peaceful

There are moments of calm

And simplicity

Mostly there's an oppressive air

A churning invisible machine

Crushing the spirit.

 

For me

There's the added dimension

Of having lost all work

With no financial assistance

Secured.

 

The government implements the schemes

And I can't speak for all

Yet the wheels turn too slow

To offer salvation.

 

The not knowing is the worst

While the bank balance bleeds.

 

Everyone has their story

Of this time

Yet we share the bleakness

Of the situation

The fear of tomorrow

All our planned tomorrows

Shattered

And are saturated

By the emptiness

Of today.

 

For many

It will be too much.

For many

Life was already

A tussle with despair

A rage against the elements

Where do they turn now?

Where do any of us turn?

When we’re all in the same hole

Some deeper than others.

 

So we sit and wait

And try to dredge up

A little bit of hope

Generate a smile

Fake it if need be

And laugh at the craziness

Of it all

Even if that laughter is hollow

And put all our faith

In tomorrow.

 

Our Unknown Tomorrow.

2020

I wrote this in Sydney in our first Lockdown. When it was a mystery as to how it would play out. Only read it again recently and thought of those poor folk doing it tough going through it still. (Most of my family and friends live in Melbourne and regional Victoria).

More Poetry.