Virtual meetings, backgrounds,
Faces behind masks,
Unless you can read human eyes,
Most of what you saw were lies
Emotions through emojis,
Communication through bytes,
The machines that routed your thoughts,
Were ephemeral and fooled your sight.
If you were lucky you were busy,
Secretly reveled in the solitude,
Stopped dreading the weekends, mall trips for the spouse
No socializing, no stepping out of the house.
If you weren’t, you kicked and sulked,
Felt the solitude was especially made for you,
You cursed the invisible virus, a hoax,
You only acknowledge enemies you can see and toast.
Probably went on a tour everyday
In your neighborhood with the family,
In time you knew who lived where,
The dogs, their names, If they cared to share
You probably discovered new wines,
Yoga, dishes, got pets, even kith you didn’t know,
Stayed away from people, you, the recluse
Zoom meetings became your favorite excuse
Or you deliberately reveled in breaking the rules,
You had to feed the forces, the desires within,
Your young heart, fresh blood in the veins,
Your views on life, freedom, made the virus look lame.
You probably latched on to the leader of the free,
Who roared and led the pack with fearless energy,
A perfect storm brewed, virus mixed with politics,
Hubris roared, caution persisted, scientists in a fix
You also saw that nothing else stopped,
The hills got and lost their green in time,
The cows grazed, the Sun shone,
The comets came and two planets were not alone.
The Lord sent missives and signs,
Rare celestial events, He did design,
Horrible fires that raged in the Golden State.
Hurricanes from A to Iota that tested our faith
While misery danced close to you,
You wished, prayed and begged the Lord,
That it never cast its ugly stare,
On your family, near and far, for who you care.
You called your parents, uncles and aunts,
Just to hear their voices, healthy and calm,
A little sign of distress, a sneeze, a cough
Sent your anxiety levels aloft
But your wishes were not always granted,
You got tidings that made you cry and sad,
You got up every-time you got knocked down,
Only to stare in the virus’ eyes with a frown
When the outside was shut,
You probably wondered what’s inside,
And closed your eyes and traveled in,
Calming your raucous mind in an epic win.
Or that didn’t happen, or you never wondered,
And went farther than you had been before,
You ran and ran and wandered in this world
Till it didn’t amaze you with what unfurled.
Probably switched to the virtual within the virtual,
And watched all shows that transported you,
To the frontiers of the universe,
Challenges, that made you forget the terrestrial curse.
The next generation toiled along,
Co-existing with you and your enigma
Staring at screens wondering about virtual learning,
Little minds, confused, curiosity died, so did the yearning
They enjoyed this arrangement for a while,
Then started asking questions about life and Math,
That left you wondering what you remembered of school,
How you answer tough ones, how to use all the tools
You wanted to help them and tried hard,
You threw classes at them from chess to music,
You played with them and became their friends,
Or let them have play dates, not socially distanced
Ah! Social distancing, about that,
You bought gloves and covered your faces,
That lasted until you visited friends and family,
When you took the virus and the rules casually
The spread out gatherings in the park,
The well distanced chairs in the backyard,
Gradually lost their separation and their goals,
As your fatigued mind ignored the human toll.
You probably want to bid 2020 a hasty farewell,
But your heart wants to cling to it,
For they lived in it, the ones you lost, your life forlorn,
Whence their breaths, their touch, were forever gone
For it let you camouflage your demons,
As they went unnoticed by one and all
As you fought them incessantly one on one,
Little battles within, till the war was won
For all said and done, it made you strong,
Your family apart, yet came closer in thoughts and prayers,
Probably saved some on gas and bills,
As you focused on the essentials, not the frills.
For now you probably are well equipped,
To enjoy the outside, knowing it is a chimera,
Asking questions you never asked before,
Loving, caring, helping and connecting more
For 2021 here’s wishing you the very best,
Now that we have emerged from a tough test,
May we remember what we ought to,
Learnings from a pandemic, unknown hitherto
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