Three Poems

By Sharron Green

Cages of Glass

In cages of glass we hide in plain sight
from a sickness unfettered by borders.
Sadly we don’t have the power to fight,
so we all must obey ‘stay home’ orders.

As the framework of daily life shatters,
work life is home life, we must not commute,
we have time to reflect on what matters,
saving the good stuff before we reboot.

Outside the virus roams free striking all,
wealth and status provide no protection.
Key workers heeding society’s call
plead that we stop spreading infection.

In cages of glass we ogle at screens
trying to grasp what the hell this all means.

Who’s Zoomin’ Who?

We’re getting into Zooming,
it keeps us in the loop,
it’s great for virtual gatherings,
like quizzes or book group.
We sit at home, drink what we like
and wear what we want too,
as long as we are fully clothed
when dashing to the loo!
Right now for groups of over six
it is the only way
to visit others’ houses – at any time of day.
For work it has become the norm
with meetings back to back,
there is no time for travelling
for gossip or to snack.
For those with things to hide behind
a backdrop can be fun,
unless you have a book shelf to
show off to everyone.
Some like to be invisible or
mute, if home-life‘s loud
it is our way to mingle
far from the madding crowd!

Wildlife reclaims the cities

Slinking out I sense a perfect peace.
Like I’ve never known before.
Pure air purges my soul –
lungs clear of the belch of metal boxes.
The tinnitus thump of my heart calmed,
I tune into the birds,
bees and
fellow foragers
– all now freed
from fear and repression.

How to teach my cubs the strange of this?
Lesson 1 – Terror of the tarmac road
– “Fake news!” they cry
Lesson 2- Not to linger in the now long lawn
– “Chillax Mum!”
Lesson 3- Food bins must be scavenged in seconds
– “But if we eat slowly, we digest better!”

Overnight, life skills turned to modern history.
Game changer, we have all advanced,
promoted to a better quality of life.
Safe distancing and home schooling
soon obsolete for us.

I am reborn with young who do not know they are born.
Long live this liberation – a miracle so sorely needed.

Nature orders humans in
Wildlife reclaims the cities
Shock when lockdown ends

Hello, I’m Sharron Green from Guildford, England. As @rhymes_n_roses on Instagram and via my website https://rhymesnroses.com I share poetry which attempts to make sense of modern life.  I’ve self-published a book titled “Introducing Rhymes_n_Roses”, and have poems in over ten international anthologies including two based on the Covid19 pandemic. 

I’ve found reading, writing and sharing poetry during lockdown hugely therapeutic and plan to publish a booklet of poems written since March. I would also like to research the subject as part of my M.A. in Creative Writing at the University of Surrey.