By Shagun Singhal
Corona: A War
This is war.
And you, a warrior.
Chaos, all around you,
Suffering, pain and death.
But you must stand strong,
For yourself, your family,
And your friends.
The war is underway,
Here to stay.
Corona, Paranoia
Heavy lids, aching head,
Loss of appetite.
Panic on the rise.
“Covid?” ask the wise.
Sore throat, dry cough,
Prickling behind the eyes.
Hysteria is the prize.
“Covid?” ask the wise.
Shivering body, paining muscles,
Woke up feeling dead.
The terror multiplies,
“Covid?” ask the wise.
Shortness of breath?
Loss of taste? And smell?
Chills? Sweating?
Nausea or vomiting?
All the whats and whys,
“Covid?” ask the wise.
Shagun Singhal is an Indian poet and writer with a passion for writing coming-of-age women’s fiction. She has previously contributed her works in the anthology titled Pages of Diary. You can connect with her on Facebook and Instagram under the username @messyfirstdraft.
Life with Covid-19 is harsh. Mentally, physically, emotionally. There’s so much negativity all around that speaking my fearful thoughts aloud just felt like I was burdening my loved ones with my own worries as well. Talking about the negativity meant spreading it further. In these tough times, I found solace in writing poems. Both of these poems came from a dark period in my life.
When I wrote the poem ‘Corona: A War’ my family had been going through the pain of losing two close relatives on the same day to Covid-19. My parents were battling not only their grief but also anxiety, for their children, their spouse and themselves. One analogy that helped them ease their minds was the comparison of the pandemic to a war. Soldiers fall in wars too, and right now, during this pandemic, we are all warriors and our common enemy: Corona. We can’t let the news of fallen soldiers get us down, we have to keep going for the ones still standing. This poem was written with the intent to give courage to its readers. I hope it does, because courage and sanity is needed in abundance during a pandemic.
The second poem ‘Corona, Paranoia’ was written based off my personal experience. We all fell ill before Corona too, yet now even a hint of sickness raises our hackles. A common cold can make you dreadful, mild headache can make you alarmed. That morning when I wrote this poem, I had woken up with a bad headache and slightly blocked nose. The entire day had been so stressful for my family and I until it was confirmed it wasn’t Corona. The entire day was spent in isolation, checking for any other symptoms. Isolation made the paranoia worse. Corona is not just affecting us physically but also mentally and emotionally. Panic has become an unavoidable part and parcel of this pandemic. Even the slightest of the symptoms has us all jumping to the worst conclusions, not that people can be blamed for that. These are fearful times.