Once upon a now,
In the land of 7 continents,
Seven with a billion each
The world and its tenants
The year was 2020
Dense with expectation
And hopes all the more plenty
Lay forgotten and ashen
Oh little boy, who's ready for storytime?
Let me tell you how,
An innocent seeming year
Stood first among the worst
Dug out the worst within the best.
In a city as little as you
Began an endemic
And none had a clue
Of a future of pandemic
It travelled the world
Spread like flu
For it was one
Just something new
Homes were closed
No visitors allowed
Open doored hospitals
Patients, yes
But no visitors allowed
A world afraid of breathing
While the world did finally breathe
The air reeked of purity
An achievement priceless
But breathe you dare not
For the price was death
And nothing less
The rivers shone brighter
As if from grief’s tears
Hearts grew stronger
As if from grief’s tears
The intimacy of company
A longing luxury,
As lovers turned strangers
On screen, come February
Oh it lasted a year and more,
But hope lasted longer
Eyes yearning for unmasked smiles
But made do with the screen awhile
Warring factions found ease
In peaceful protests
"I can't breathe"
And so couldn't we
The day was both
Black and white
For equality came with a price
And thousands could finally breathe
We entered with novice hearts
Into a pandemic unarmed
At war with ourselves
In the end all victorious
But many of us
To permanent rest
Time was an anomaly
Cheerful beginning
An overwhelming middle
And an unclear ending
Time was an anomaly
As we saw death in life
Yet we lived, dying inside
Oh my dear boy
Lose that frown
Because from our ashes we learnt
To paint the best of our own
And that's the story
Of a time within time
So far gone
Still afresh in mind
When peace embraced unrest
A virus aiming for our chest
And putting optimists to test
We embraced ourselves warm
Skin raw without another's touch
But heart learning depths of calm
Since time taught us much
Lessons too many
Time too long
Loss too often
But love was the song
And maybe that's how
We lived happily ever after
For happiness was
Life, hope and courage
And onwards we wage
The boy had slept,
His dreams akin
To romanticised history
While she, awake and reborn
Reliving the life of her story.
Written by Sneha Devraj
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