Right now
We're at a junction in our lives
A strange path we never thought we'd be on.
The whole world is affected, one by one
Universities moving online
Supermarkets being emptied
Illness being spread.
And it's strange to think
That this will be the thing
We can say we lived through
This is our generation's big disaster
This is our life changing moment.
And it'll end up in history books
Just like the stonewall riots, and the world wars
The civil rights movement, and great Fire of London
Yet another chapter of history
To learn, to memorise,
First for an exam or a test
Then just in case it turns up in a pub quiz
Or the daily trivia challenge.
And it'll cover the basics, heavily biased
Towards the side which writes the book
As always happens.
It will talk of the closed borders
The sudden spread
The symptoms
The self isolation
The deaths.
It'll talk of the impact for years to come
Of how it changed our world
Shattered our beliefs
Tore our hopes to shreds.
It'll tell of the origins
Almost certainly including the tale
Of the man in Wuhan
Who ate a bat
Probably used
As further fuel
To the racist fire that burns
Unwanted.
And yet
The history books won't tell us
Of the kindness that spread
Across borders, of the rekindling of lost connections
Of the singing in solidarity
Of the games played across oceans.
They won't record
How the skies became brighter
The rivers clearer
How the wildlife returned
And the air became fresher.
They won't tell
Of the hope that was shared
Of the stories read
Of how companies offered their services
And artists gave their art freely.
They won't tell
Of the love that was nurtured
The art that was created
The humanity that was witnessed.
But these, these are the things
That should be remembered the most
The reminders of joy and love,
The beauty of the world when we can't damage it,
The relief we'll all feel
When it's over, the multitude of things
We will never take for granted again.
Like tight warm hugs
And kisses on cheeks
Like fist bumps and handshakes
High fives and holding hands
And just being able to be close
To one another.
