Further to last week’s post about rethinking…
We were flying to the moon.
We were finding life on Mars.
We were dropping bombs with drones.
We were getting bigger cars.
We were building finer homes,
Flying out to warmer lands.
We were busy buying clothes.
We were brushing up our tans.
We were throwing out good food
While we watched the starving poor.
We kept burning fossil fuels
And our air became less pure.
We were warned by our Pope,
Need to mind our Common Home,
Need to watch our Carbon Footprint,
Try to save our world from doom.
But we didn’t want to listen
And we didn’t want to hear.
We just watched TV and tablets,
Drank our wine and quaffed our beer.
Then Corona chose to visit.
We were all caught unprepared.
This wee microscopic VIRUS
Has our whole world running scared.
So our hands we keep on washing
And we’re careful when we cough.
We stand six feet from our neighbour
‘Cause this virus might jump off.
Now we live in isolation
While our hearts are full of fear,
And we fill our fridge and cupboards
Just in case it lasts a year.
Pubs and cafés are forbidden
And we dare not go to Mass.
Nursing homes we must not visit
Hospitals we have to pass.
But this enforced isolation
Gives us lots of time to think,
Time to clean the kitchen cupboards,
Time to make our wardrobes shrink.
Could it be that this Corona
Is a blessing in disguise?
Makes us think about our lifestyle,
Makes us open wide our eyes.
We thought we were all important,
Greatest beings on this earth.
So we used it and abused it
As if it were ours from birth.
But Corona is a challenge,
Makes us take a different view.
Helps us see what really matters,
What it is we need to do.
We must watch out for our neighbour,
Doing everything we can.
We are all in this together,
Let us love our fellow man.
God is with us every moment,
Minding us with loving care.
Now we know how much we need Him,
Let us talk to Him in prayer.
So Corona, thanks for coming.
Truth to tell, we needed you.
But don’t overstay your welcome.
That, alas, would never do!
If you’re curious about how this iconic image of the COVID-19 pandemic came to be, check out this article in The New York Times: “The Spiky Blob seen Around the World”