Saddest Thing would be a challenging topic to blog about at the best of times, let alone slap in the middle of our protracted Coronavirus lockdown. Nevertheless, I'll have a go.
There is obviously much acute sadness across the world as a direct result of the pandemic, but I'm sure you'd rather not read more depressing details of all that here. Therefore my poem for the week - when you get there - tries to give a slightly different sense of where we are, leaving the morbid aspect to one side. To help lighten proceedings, I've invoked the assistance of the chorus from Greek theatre to represent the compassionate consciousness of the hive mind of planet Earth 2020.
Before we head there though, and in keeping with the this week's topic, I probably ought to say a few general words on theme.
One of the features of social media (Facebook in particular) in recent weeks has been the runaway proliferation of 'list' posts. Everyone is doing them: 'Ten records that have shaped your musical tastes', 'Ten things everybody likes, but you hate', 'Ten gigs you've been to but one is a lie - guess which', 'Ten best books you've ever read', 'Ten favourite places you've been on holiday' and so forth. With that in mind, and because I cannot honestly cite any one outstanding candidate to claim the title of undisputed saddest thing, I thought I'd post a covid-free 'Ten...' list of my own on today's blog.
These instances are not in order of importance, because as I said, I struggle to pinpoint the saddest. They may well be in chronological order. They have all taken deep and lasting root in my memory because of the psychic impact they made at the time they happened, some from a very early age. If it comes over like a piece of poetry, that's serendipity ;-) The poem proper comes afterwards.
Ten Things -
Seeing my Mother cry and not knowing why
Realising that one day I was going to die
When my guinea-pig got munched by a cat
The day the beautiful TSR-2 got scrapped
When I first saw bullying close at hand
The Beatles announcing the end of the band
My first 'live together' love affair falling apart
Choosing 'earning a living' rather than art
The breaking of hearts (sometimes my bad)
Losing my parents (inevitable but sad)
You may question, having read that little lot, my sense of priorities! However, I can only tell it as it was. And so to this latest offering from the imaginarium, informed by the extraordinary events of our year to date. I'm not sure if it's the definitive take. It may be a work-in-progress. The start and finish are fixed but the structure is capable of accepting other verses/choruses en route if they occur to me...
World On Hold
what pestilence is this that brings
great nations to their knees?
contagion from the twinkling
wings of the nocturnal ones
and their fear grew greater
as their news feeds got scarier
strange words are suddenly in
vogue on every tongue
disease pandemic plague
covid-19 lockdown
and their hair grew longer
and their clothes got dirtier
a whole planet in quarantine
puts its old life on hold
stays indoors does what it's told
binges on wine box sets
and their waistlines grew broader
as their fridges got busier
no schools no work no travel
no face to face instead
communities of aether
meet on a virtual level
and their cars grew rusty
and their children got wilder
economies in crisis
logistics under strain
giving oil not brides away
privation boredom pain
and their houses grew smaller
and their dreams got sexier
our sense of what's important
gradually shifting
the weight of never making
any difference lifting
and their applause grew prouder
as the sirens got louder
air becomes less polluted
wildlife makes a comeback
balance is being restored
rainbows fill our windows
and their greens grew beautiful
and their blues got less
one day we'll stand on our stoops
not this time to applaud
but to launch out on the tide
of a finer world order
and their minds grew clearer
and their lives got saner...
Thanks for reading. Have a good week everyone. Stay positive and keep safe, S ;-)
There is obviously much acute sadness across the world as a direct result of the pandemic, but I'm sure you'd rather not read more depressing details of all that here. Therefore my poem for the week - when you get there - tries to give a slightly different sense of where we are, leaving the morbid aspect to one side. To help lighten proceedings, I've invoked the assistance of the chorus from Greek theatre to represent the compassionate consciousness of the hive mind of planet Earth 2020.
Before we head there though, and in keeping with the this week's topic, I probably ought to say a few general words on theme.
One of the features of social media (Facebook in particular) in recent weeks has been the runaway proliferation of 'list' posts. Everyone is doing them: 'Ten records that have shaped your musical tastes', 'Ten things everybody likes, but you hate', 'Ten gigs you've been to but one is a lie - guess which', 'Ten best books you've ever read', 'Ten favourite places you've been on holiday' and so forth. With that in mind, and because I cannot honestly cite any one outstanding candidate to claim the title of undisputed saddest thing, I thought I'd post a covid-free 'Ten...' list of my own on today's blog.
These instances are not in order of importance, because as I said, I struggle to pinpoint the saddest. They may well be in chronological order. They have all taken deep and lasting root in my memory because of the psychic impact they made at the time they happened, some from a very early age. If it comes over like a piece of poetry, that's serendipity ;-) The poem proper comes afterwards.
Ten Things -
Seeing my Mother cry and not knowing why
Realising that one day I was going to die
When my guinea-pig got munched by a cat
The day the beautiful TSR-2 got scrapped
When I first saw bullying close at hand
The Beatles announcing the end of the band
My first 'live together' love affair falling apart
Choosing 'earning a living' rather than art
The breaking of hearts (sometimes my bad)
Losing my parents (inevitable but sad)
You may question, having read that little lot, my sense of priorities! However, I can only tell it as it was. And so to this latest offering from the imaginarium, informed by the extraordinary events of our year to date. I'm not sure if it's the definitive take. It may be a work-in-progress. The start and finish are fixed but the structure is capable of accepting other verses/choruses en route if they occur to me...
World On Hold
what pestilence is this that brings
great nations to their knees?
contagion from the twinkling
wings of the nocturnal ones
and their fear grew greater
as their news feeds got scarier
strange words are suddenly in
vogue on every tongue
disease pandemic plague
covid-19 lockdown
and their hair grew longer
and their clothes got dirtier
a whole planet in quarantine
puts its old life on hold
stays indoors does what it's told
binges on wine box sets
and their waistlines grew broader
as their fridges got busier
no schools no work no travel
no face to face instead
communities of aether
meet on a virtual level
and their cars grew rusty
and their children got wilder
economies in crisis
logistics under strain
giving oil not brides away
privation boredom pain
and their houses grew smaller
and their dreams got sexier
our sense of what's important
gradually shifting
the weight of never making
any difference lifting
and their applause grew prouder
as the sirens got louder
air becomes less polluted
wildlife makes a comeback
balance is being restored
rainbows fill our windows
and their greens grew beautiful
and their blues got less
one day we'll stand on our stoops
not this time to applaud
but to launch out on the tide
of a finer world order
and their minds grew clearer
and their lives got saner...
Thanks for reading. Have a good week everyone. Stay positive and keep safe, S ;-)