Unprecedented

Heather Harrisson

They say it's never happened,
And never will again.
They say that they don't know,
If it will end, or when.

They say it's 'unprecedented',
A word most didn't know,
Now words like that are common,
And daily, come and go.

'Furloughed' is now something,
A strange idea that we allow
A way for bosses to say,
We want you, just not now.

'Pandemic' was a word,
Reserved for sci-fi films.
With images of zombies,
And mass graves to be filled.

'Overwhelmed' we had all heard,
But not to this degree.
Paramedics, nurses, cleaners,
Struggling hard for you and me.

'Key workers' we salute you,
And not just the doctors,
But teachers, cashiers, civil servants,
Cleaners, bin men, more.

'Panic buying', now this we know,
It happens every year,
But this seems far more fearful,
More at stake than Christmas tears.

'Social distance' say goodbye,
To friends and family,
If they don't live with you, well then
They're people you can't see

'Transmission', like on radio?
No, this is far more deadly.
So stay at home, and wash your hands,
Don't endanger the elderly.

'Highly contagious' is what they say,
Which means it's easy to catch,
Don't assume it won't be you,
Those who caught it thought like that.

'Spreading' was for butter,
For morning toast with jam,
But now it means you're guilty,
Of causing pain and harm.

'Toll' was a word for bridges,
Though not to Wales anymore.
Now it numbers the dead,
And it climbs like never before.

'cough' was always normal
Everyone had one now and then
But today people stare in horror
The sound scares them and they run.

'Quarantine', the hard one,
Where we all stay indoors,
Meet with friends over video,
And try not to be bored.

Now for 'Bare essentials', 
Do you know what that means?
Milk, medicine, bread
Not 100 cans of beans

'Measure', was a word ,
Used in things like construction,
But now it means they've come,
To give us some new restriction.

'Isolation' may seem lonely,
But its saving lives and means,
Those workers running round,
Still get the breaks they need.

'Police fines' sound extreme,
But unfortunately some,
Don't see the huge importance,
And the possible grisly outcome.

And now for the big one,
The word 'Corona virus'.
I hadn't heard it before,
And at first thought it was harmless.

Not one of us thought,
That it would come to us.
And assumed that it would pass,
Just like any illness does.

But instead it travelled here,
To wreak havoc with our lives,
To tear them all apart,
With sickness, pain and strife.

It's running round the world,
Killing, destroying, too fast,
So we have to try to help,
Try to do our best.

Stay at home if you can,
Don't travel at all,
Wash your hands and belongings,
Don't let this virus take control.

Lets save the ones we love,
But not just the ones close by.
Think of other people,
Before you leave, ask why.

Why must you go out?
Is it really life or death?
Because if you spread to others,
It could mean their last breath.

Don't just think of YOUR parents,
But others' parents, and all.
Do you want to make them orphans,
Just to get some more loo roll?

And not just of the parents,
But the children out their too,
Who may be sick already,
Fighting to get through.

After all their time struggling,
Do you really want to say,
That you tipped the scales over,
And sent their life away.

So think before you walk,
Before you touch or cough or sneeze.
Imagine it was you that,
This virus had on bended knee.

How much would you beg,
For others to follow rules,
Tell them, just because they're healthy,
Doesn't mean that you are too.

Please, I beg you, everyone,
These times are so so hard,
And the language is so different,
With so many strange new words.

But our goal remains the same,
To live as humans should,
To do all that we can,
To save others if we could.

We are not ferocious beasts,
Who only seek their own survival,
And throw others in harms way,
To guarantee one less rival.

We are not meant to fight each other,
For soap and toiletries,
But rather, unite as one,
To fight micro enemies.

Lets band together all of us,
And fight as one large unit,
To kick this dumb disease,
And kick its chaos with it.

If the words are too lengthy,
Or hard for you to understand,
I'll help you with this poem,
With this device in hand.

'Unprecedented', 'spreading'
'toll', 'measure' 'quarantine',
'pandemic', 'panic buying'
'trasmission', 'COVID19'.

'Social distance', 'highly contagious',
'Isolation', 'cough', 'Furloughed'
'Key workers', 'bare essentials',
'Police fines', 'Overwhelmed'

All those words are unimportant,
The words you really need are these;
"Save peoples lives,
And stay at home, please."

  • Author: Heather Harrisson (Offline Offline)
  • Published: April 2nd, 2020 11:43
  • Comment from author about the poem: Please be careful out there people, stay home, stay safe
  • Category: Sociopolitical
  • Views: 14
Get a free collection of Classic Poetry ↓

Receive the ebook in seconds 50 poems from 50 different authors


Comments +

Comments3

  • dusk arising

    On your profile page it shows that you have never ever bothered to read any poem posted by any of the poets on here. Why is that?

  • orchidee

    Good write Heather.

  • Fay Slimm.

    A very telling list of today's fearful words Heather - thanks for the needed reminder.



To be able to comment and rate this poem, you must be registered. Register here or if you are already registered, login here.