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Poem reflects on Covid-19

Monday April 20th 2020

George Irwin.

Retired rector of Ballymacash, the Rev George Irwin, has written this poem inspired by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Coronavirus  :  Covid-19

Prior to the Ides of March in the year of Twenty Twenty
we gave meaning to our greetings with kiss and hug a plenty.
We shook each other by the hand and wished the best of days.
Now it’s down to nervous smiles or nods and namastes.

For we’ve been seized by mighty dread of a viral epidemic
whose spread throughout the planet is invasive and systemic.
‘Uncharted waters,’ people say, and what a dreadful thought;
such unprecedented gloom this evil plague has brought.

The streets are bare and desolate, with shutters firmly closed.
People are advised to stay within their homes enclosed.
We dare not venture outwards for fear of taking ill,
or maybe pass to others this virus that can kill.

Yet, we must hold our nerve, and steady one another,
for in that way of mutual love, we shan’t have cause to shudder.

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